NEW YORK (NY)
RNS
December 7, 2020
By Jack Jenkins
The host of an EWTN show since 1988, Rutler has often spouted anti-LGBTQ invective and has cast doubt on others’ claims of sexual assault by Catholic priests.
The Catholic television network EWTN has pulled programs featuring the Rev. George William Rutler, a prominent conservative New York Catholic priest, while authorities conduct an investigation into allegations that he watched pornography in front of a security guard and sexually assaulted her when she tried to flee.
According to The New York Times, Ashley Gonzalez, 22, said she was working as a security guard in late November at the Church of St. Michael the Archangel in midtown Manhattan, when Rutler, 75, invited her into his office. Rutler then allegedly began watching gay pornography on his computer and masturbating — an act Gonzalez claims she documented in a 19-second video clip recorded with her phone.
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