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	Jury Finds 'Naked Jogging Priest' Guilty of Indecent Exposure By Vanessa Miller Daily Camera June 12, 2008 http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/jun/12/attorney-naked-priest-didnt-mean-expose-himself/ GREELEY — A jury on Thursday convicted a Catholic priest of indecent exposure after he was arrested for jogging nude around a high school track in Frederick. The Rev. Robert Whipkey — who was serving at parishes in Erie, Mead and Frederick at the time of his arrest June 22, 2007 — will be sentenced Aug. 11 in Weld County District Court, when he could be forced to register as a sex offender. Whipkey, 53, faces a sentence of probation to 18 months in jail and a fine of $500 to $5,000. Weld County jurors convicted Whipkey on the first and only day of his trial Thursday after hearing about two hours of testimony. "It's not often when a trial takes less time than jury selection," said prosecutor Steve Wrenn. "But that is the case here because the facts are clear." Prosecutors said Whipkey walked naked down the busiest street in Frederick, lapped the Frederick High School track in the buff and walked home naked about 4:30 a.m. — as the sun came up on the second-longest day of the year. An off-duty police officer said he saw Whipkey in the buff, shined his light on him and then saw Whipkey cover up his private parts and start walking briskly, according to police. The officer followed Whipkey to make sure he was OK, authorities said. But Whipkey's attorney argued his client's actions didn't satisfy an element of the indecent-exposure law that requires proof he "knowingly" exposed himself. Defense attorney Harvey Steinberg said Whipkey thought he was alone. "Did he say, 'Hey, look at me. I'm naked. Take a look at my genitals?'" Steinberg said. "When he realized for the first time that someone was out at 4:30 a.m., he immediately covered up." Steinberg said it's not illegal in Colorado to walk down the street nude unless you know you're going to expose yourself to someone. "And what's the evidence of that?" Steinberg asked the jury during his closing arguments. "What evidence do you have that he knew people were going to be out at 4 a.m.? You have none." Two witnesses said they've seen Whipkey nude before: One neighbor said she's seen him naked in his house through open windows, and a stranger said she saw him naked decades ago while camping and confronted him. But before jurors deliberated, Steinberg reminded them that his client wasn't on trial for "something that happened 20 years ago," or "for what happened in his house." He also said Whipkey wasn't on trial for being "weird" or "odd." "He's on trial for indecent exposure," Steinberg said. "And when he covers up when someone sees him, he's telling you he didn't want anyone to see him and he thought he was alone." Prosecutor Kent Leier said Whipkey repeatedly told police, "I know what I did was wrong." "The guy admitted to it," Leier said. "He said, 'I did it. I'm your naked guy. I walked down the street naked, around the track naked. I did it. I knew it was wrong.'" Zachariah Hahn, the off-duty police officer who saw the early morning exposure, said Whipkey told him that he jogs in the buff because he "sweats profusely." "I was honestly shocked," Hahn said. "I could not believe I was seeing a man walk down the street completely naked. I have seen a lot of things in my profession, and I was completely shocked." Hahn said he followed Whipkey until the man went inside his home. When Hahn asked Whipkey if he had been walking naked down the street, Hahn said the man "paused, put down his head and said, 'Yeah, I was.'" Whipkey, who sat quietly in a blue, collared shirt in front of a row of supporters Thursday, waived his right to testify during the trial. The jury wasn't informed that Whipkey is a priest, and one juror was dismissed after saying, "If I get a bad feeling from God, I will have to make that decision." Whipkey was investigated by the Archdiocese of Denver more than eight years ago for "inappropriate personal behavior," according to the church. Following that investigation, he began therapy concerning unspecified "personal issues," church officials said. Medical health professionals evaluated Whipkey as part of his therapy and determined he wasn't a danger to others and shouldn't be removed from the ministry, according to the church.
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