Cleveland Priest Accused of Soliciting Sex Appears in Court
By Cory Shaffer
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The priest of a West Side Cleveland Catholic church suspected of soliciting for sex made his initial appearance in court Tuesday morning. The Rev. James McGonegal, 68, held his head high, but did not speak in Cleveland Municipal Court or to Judge Marilyn B. Cassidy during his roughly 45-second arraignment on felony solicitation charges after an HIV-positive diagnosis. Through his attorney, Henry Hilow, McGonegal waived his right to a hearing, and his personal bond was continued. He and Hilow exited the courtroom. They declined to give statements. McGonegal did not enter a plea. His case was sent to Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, where it will likely be taken to a grand jury. McGonegal, a pastor at St. Ignatius of Antioch since the 1980s, was arrested Friday afternoon after reports said he approached a park ranger for sex at Edgewater Park. In an incident report, an off-duty Cleveland Metroparks ranger said McGonegal offered the ranger $50 to help him “get off,” then exposed himself and masturbated, all while sitting inside his late-model Jeep SUV. The report said McGonegal had three sex devices in his Jeep when he was arrested around 12:45 p.m. Late Monday, the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland released a statement saying McDonegal had stepped away from his duties at St. Ignatius to "attend his personal matters." "The status of Fr. James McGonegal is under review," the release said.
According to the report, McGonegal first made eye contact with the off-duty, civilian-clothed ranger as he pulled his Jeep into a parking lot at Edgewater. The ranger said he walked to a trail, looked back, and saw McGonegal had rolled down his window and was tapping on the door frame, waving at the ranger. The ranger wrote that he walked out of sight, then returned after two minutes to find McGonegal pulling out of his parking spot. McGonegal returned when he saw the ranger, the report said. The two men began talking, and when the ranger asked McGonegal if he wanted to go for a walk, the priest declined and said he knew of people who had been arrested by park rangers, the report said. The ranger turned down an offer to get in McGonegal's Jeep, and then the priest suggested that they go to his nearby home, the ranger wrote. The report also said McGonegal was touching himself while the men were talking. The two then shifted the conversation to what McGonegal wanted and how much he would pay, the report said, before McGonegal exposed himself and the ranger arrested him.
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