This Exorcist Priest Was Arrested After Allegedly Using A Teen Girl’s Hair As Floss After He Pulled It Out Of Her Head
Father Carlos Martins, a priest from Detroit, Michigan, has been charged with misdemeanor battery after allegedly pulling hair from a teenage girl’s head and using the strands to floss his teeth.
The incident occurred on November 25, 2024, when Father Carlos, who’s the host of an exorcism podcast known as “The Exorcist Files” and author of a book with the same title, visited the Queen of Apostles parish, located in Joliet.
The visit was part of the Relic of St. Jude’s nationwide American tour, which was directed by Treasures of the Church, Father Carlos’ evangelist religious ministry.
While at the Queen of Apostles parish, a male teenager was standing in line to see the relic. Then, according to the teen, Father Carlos, who’s bald, began joking about having hair and grabbed a 13-year-old girl’s locks. Afterward, he proceeded to put the hair inside his mouth and allegedly used the hair to make a flossing motion.
In a criminal complaint filed on January 23, 2025, prosecutors stated that Father Carlos “knowingly, without legal justification by any means, made physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature… with a minor.”
Later, Father Carlos allegedly sat in the pew behind the same teenage girl and made “growling” sounds, said Sgt. Dwayne English, a spokesperson for Joliet Police.
The Diocese of Joliet reportedly told Father Carlos to “depart from our parish and out of our Diocese” after the incident transpired.
He was taken into custody on January 27 and charged with battery, but he pled not guilty. So, Father Carlos was released and given a notice to appear in court.
The Treasures of the Church belongs to the religious order Companions of the Cross, which revealed how Father Carlos “agreed to withdraw from his pastoral ministry.”
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He’s also been “prohibited from engaging in any public ministry,” according to a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Detroit.
“We pray for all those who are affected by this painful situation,” said the Companions of the Cross in a statement.
Father Carlos’ attorney, Marcella Burke, has since called the charges he’s facing “unfounded” and “egregious.”
“The evidence will show that Fr. Carlos did not ‘floss’ with a student’s hair or ‘growl,’ among other completely false and repulsive accusations. This is a takedown of a good priest and an attempted shakedown of the Church,” Burke said.
“We are confident in the legal process and look forward to our client being fully exonerated.”
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