An Alabama Catholic priest is under investigation after a stripper alleged he began a sexual relationship with her when she was 17 and later paid her hundreds of thousands of dollars to stay silent.
Robert Sullivan, 61, served as pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Homewood.
He took a personal leave on August 4 after the accusations became public.
Highlights
- Alabama priest Robert Sullivan allegedly had a sexual relationship with a stripper starting when she was 17, a minor under Catholic law.
- The priest reportedly paid Heather Jones $273,000 in two wire transfers to sign an NDA and keep their relationship secret.
- Jones described a years-long relationship involving financial support, private companionship, and deceit about Sullivan's identity.
- Sullivan took personal leave in early August and is removed from priestly duties pending a diocesan investigation.
- Alabama law allows sex at 16, but Catholic canon law treats under-18 sexual contact as abuse.
Robert Sullivan, 61, allegedly began a sexual relationship with a stripper when she was a minor
Image credits: Our Lady of Sorrows Church/Instagram
The matter has been reported to the Vatican and the Alabama Department of Human Resources, since, according to the allegation, their relationship began when the woman was a minor.
Heather Jones, now 33, told church officials and The Guardian that she met Sullivan in 2009 while working as a dancer at a Birmingham-area strip club. Jones, who grew up in foster care, cited “severe neglect” from her mother.
Jones said that Sullivan was a regular patron and tipped her during her shifts. He offered to help change her life.
Jones said Sullivan proposed “to form an ongoing relationship that would include financial support in exchange for private companionship,” which also included sex.
She said she was a minor at that time with no experience having an adult relationship, and that she “was hesitant but ultimately agreed due to his persistence and the state [of mind] I was in,” according to her letter to the diocese.
Jones described a years-long relationship in which Sullivan took her shopping, dining, drinking, and to hotels in at least six Alabama cities to engage in sex. She said he initially told her he was a doctor before she learned that he was a priest.
Image credits: Heather Jones
According to Jones, Sullivan proposed a formal non-disclosure agreement (NDA) earlier this year. She said the deal offered $273,000 in exchange for her silence and an ongoing relationship.
Jones provided an unsigned copy of the NDA, bank statements, and Venmo records to The Guardian.
She also provided a copy of a March 27 message from Sullivan’s Our Lady of Sorrows email address, saying: “Someone will be calling you to sign the NDA.”
According to The Guardian, she provided bank records showing that four days after the email, Jones received a $136,500 wire transfer from an account in the name of the attorney’s law office.
The records also showed that the following day, she received a second wire transfer of the same amount from the same account.
The priest allegedly offered her $273,000 to sign an NDA in exchange for silence
Image credits: Our Lady of Sorrows Church/Facebook
Jones does not know if the payments to her came out of Sullivan’s personal finances. She alleged that Sullivan said he was happy to give her money because he loved her, and so did Jesus Christ.
She said she came forward after all these years because of Sullivan’s close work with families and children as a pastor.
Bishop Steven Raica confirmed the diocese received Jones’s complaint in July.
“While the Alabama Department of Human Resources determined that the allegations did not match the requirements for opening an investigation, a diocese investigation was initiated, again, according to Church law and our diocesan policies and guidelines,” Raica wrote to the diocese.
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“Father Sullivan was granted a leave of absence and is currently removed from all priestly service pending the outcome of the investigation.”
Alabama law allows people aged 16 and older to consent to sex, and the state has no specific law banning sexual relationships between clergy and adult congregants.
However, Catholic canon law considers anyone under 18 a minor, and sexual contact with them is treated as abuse.
Sullivan has been a priest for more than 32 years and previously served as president of John Carroll High School.
In his August 2 statement to parishioners, Sullivan asked for prayers and said he was taking leave “after prayer and reflection.”