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	Woodhaven: Priest Accused of Exposing Himself inside Restaurant By Jackie Harrison-martin The News Herald May 13, 2009 http://www.thenewsherald.com/articles/2009/05/13/none/doc4a0b2f71cc30c781051902.txt WOODHAVEN — A Downriver priest was arraigned Wednesday before 33rd District Judge Michael McNally on a charge of disorderly conduct after an employee at a restaurant saw him exposed and rubbing his privates. The Rev. Roger Knapp, 57, of Gibraltar was cited for lewdness and indecent exposure after a waitress at Amigo’s Restaurant, 22085 West Road, reported the incident. It occurred at about 2:30 p.m. March 26. Knapp has been the pastor at St. Victor Catholic Church in Gibraltar since 1996. After a plea bargain, the charge of lewd and indecent exposure was dropped and Knapp pleaded no contest to the charge of disorderly conduct. Sentencing, which is expected to be nine months probation, is set for June 4. If Knapp completes the terms of probation, the charge will be dismissed. Police had declined to release their report on the incident until Knapp was scheduled for arraignment. According to the report, released this week, Knapp had been dining at the restaurant for several months and had pursued conversations with the waitress that had sexual overtones. The waitress told police that on March 26 she noticed Knapp rubbing his upper leg near his privates when she walked by him to serve another customer. The report said that when she walked past him again he was fully exposed and was fondling himself. The police report said the waitress alerted other servers and asked a male employee to watch Knapp because she feared he might say or do “something creepy.” The report said the employee saw Knapp rubbing his leg and moving his hand to his privates every time the waitress walked by him. Another restaurant employee was asked to write down all of the license plate numbers of vehicles in the restaurant parking lot, one of which included Knapp’s. Knapp was interviewed by police April 6. According to the report, he said there was a misunderstanding about what he was doing. Knapp told police he had spilled salsa on his pants and was cleaning it. According to the report, Knapp said someone must have seen him cleaning the salsa and mistaken the action for something else. The Archdiocese of Detroit released a statement Monday. “We are aware of pending legal matters involving Fr. Roger Knapp, a priest for the Archdiocese of Detroit,” Ned McGrath, director of communications, said in the statement. The statement also said that Knapp is on a leave of absence to attend to the matter. The leave of absence began May 6. Joe Kohn, director of public relations for the Archdiocese of Detroit, commented on the issue prior to the arraignment. “These things don’t happen that often,” Kohn said. “They are dealt with case by case. We don’t have a textbook for this.” Another priest has been temporarily assigned to St. Victor.
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