Strongsville Priest Accused Of Sexually Exploiting Kids

STRONGSVILLE, OH — A Strongsville priest has been accused of sex trafficking of a minor and sexual exploitation of children, the Department of Justice announced.

Robert D. McWilliams, 29, was indicted by a federal grand jury last week. He faces charges of possession of child pornography, sexual exploitation of children and sex trafficking of a minor.

“Today’s indictment reflect the serious and elaborate nature of the acts allegedly taken by the defendant to traffic and exploit local area children,” U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman said in a statement. “The alleged acts committed in this case are a disturbing and strong reminder for parents to be vigilant about who their children talk to and what they do online.”

McWilliams pretended to be a woman online and then had sexually explicit chats with juvenile boys, court documents said. Some of McWilliams' victims were boys he knew because he served as a priest in their parishes, the court documents said.

While posing as a woman, McWilliams would entice the boys into sending explicit photographs and videos of themselves, prosecutors said. He would occasionally threaten to expose embarrassing information about the boys if they did not send the images, court documents said. Some of the boys' mothers did receive explicit photos and videos of their children from McWilliams, prosecutors said.

“Allegations of child exploitation against a trusted member of the religious community has long-term reverberations beyond just the criminal acts of the accused," said Vance Callender, special agent in charge of HSI Detroit. "Identifying people who violate their positions of public trust will always be a priority for those in HSI that investigate child exploitation."

The affidavit against McWilliams alleges that he was in possession of or distributed approximately 1,700 images and videos of child pornography.

The priest is also accused of using Grindr.com to meet up with a juvenile boy and pay for sex, prosecutors said. McWilliams reportedly met with a teenage multiple times and paid the teenager for sex each time, court documents said.

McWilliams was taken into custody in 2019, outside of St. Joseph Parish in Strongsville.

Anyone with knowledge of McWilliams’s contact with children should contact Homeland Security Investigations at 216-749-9602, officials said.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Each defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.