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Two Catholic Priests Accused Of Broad-Daylight Car Sex In Miami Beach
The men, Rev. Diego Berrio and Rev. Edwin Giraldo-Cortes, were allegedly in a car without tinted windows in Miami Beach in full view of the public, performing sex acts on eachother.
Two Chicago priests were caught in a car near a playground in Miami Beach performing sex acts on each other, police said.
On Tuesday afternoon, Rev. Diego Berrio, 39, (pictured left) was in the passenger seat and Rev. Edwin Giraldo-Cortes, 30, (pictured right) was in the driver's seat of a black Volkswagen Beetle, according to WFOR-TV in Miami.
At around 3:20 p.m., a witness saw the pair in a car and notified police. Officers arrived and the two men were performing sex acts on each other “in full view of the public passing by on Ocean Drive and the sidewalk,” according to a police report.
The car did not have tinted windows, police said.
The men were so wrapped up in each other that they didn't even notice when the cops arrived.
“We observed the two males performing the sex act, the officer had to tap on the window to get their attention,” Miami Beach Police spokesman Ernesto Rodriguez told WFOR-TV.
Both men were arrested and charged with lewd and lascivious behavior and Cortes was also charged with indecent exposure.
According to the arrest report, the men are both priests from the Mission San Juan Diego Parish, which is in Arlington Heights in Illinois, near Chicago.
The Archdiocese of Chicago released a statement about the pair on Tuesday. They said the men have been removed from the ministry.
"Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, has removed Fr. Berrio from ministry and withdrawn his faculties to minister in the Archdiocese of Chicago, effective immediately. The archdiocese will appoint an administrator for the Misión San Juan Diego as soon as possible," the statement read. "Archdiocese representatives have been in contact with Fr. Cortes’ home diocese of Soacha, Colombia and informed them that Fr. Cortes will not be granted additional faculties to minister in the Archdiocese of Chicago."
They do not take the matter lightly, the statement said.
"It is our responsibility to ensure those who serve our people are fit for ministry. We take this matter very seriously and will provide updates as they become available."
Both men bonded out of jail, WFOR-TV reported, but declined to speak to reporters.
[Photo: Miami Beach Police Department]
