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Louisiana priest accused of sex acts with 2 women on church altar

PEARL RIVER, La. — A Catholic priest in Louisiana is accused of engaging in sex acts with two women on a church altar last month, according to court documents.

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Rev. Travis Clark, 37, the former pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church, was booked Oct. 1 on obscenity charges stemming from the Sept. 30 incident, WWL-TV reported. Clark was removed as pastor the day after his arrest, church officials said.

The two women, Melissa Cheng, 23, and Mindy Dixon, 41, were also booked on the same count as Clark. Police alleged the “obscene acts occurred on the altar, which is clearly visible from the street.”

According to court documents filed by the Pearl River Police Department, a passerby saw lights on inside the church at about 11 p.m. on Sept. 30, The Times-Picayune reported. The person called police after claiming to see Clark half-naked on top of the altar, allegedly engaging in sex acts with the two women, who were wearing high heels and corsets and were wielding sex toys.

According to court documents, stage lights were set up at the altar, along with a cellphone and camera that were mounted on tripods, the Times-Picayune reported.

The passerby took a cellphone video of the alleged sex acts and called authorities, who viewed the footage and arrested the trio, WWL reported.

Clark, who was ordained in 2013, had recently been named chaplain of Pope John Paul II High School in Slidell, in addition to his duties at Sts. Peter and Paul, according to the television station.

Attempts to contact Clark, Chen and Dixon were not immediately successful, the Times-Picayune reported. All three posted bail.

Archdiocese of New Orleans officials declined to comment on Thursday, saying authorities were investigating the matter, the newspaper reported.