The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (SPI), a group of queer “nuns” that regularly mock the Catholic faith, offered their “profound apologies” after a former “probationary” member was arrested in August for masturbating in public.
Clinton Monroe Ellis-Gilmore allegedly exposed himself on Aug. 12 in his truck with the door open, where the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department in California found him and arrested him, according to a police report obtained by The Daily Wire. Ellis-Gilmore was formerly a member of SPI’s Eureka chapter, who told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the behavior was “not representative of our Order, our values, or the hundreds of individuals who serve as Sisters,” according to a prepared statement. (RELATED: ‘Drag Nun’ Arrested For Public Masturbation)
“The Eureka House of The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence unreservedly condemns the behavior alleged in police reports,” the statement reads. “We are a global nonprofit organization dedicated to community service, fundraising, and activism on behalf of marginalized communities. To have anyone associated with us accused of such behavior is an embarrassment and a blight on our name. The person arrested was in a probationary process to become a full member at one time but this process ended in October of 2020. They were not a member at the time of their arrest, as several media outlets have stated.”
Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence at San Francisco Pride 2023 via @SFSisters on Instagram
The chapter also argued that their “Order” was not the only “religious, political and social service organizations” that have had members who have not aligned with their values “often in much more serious and harmful ways, and sometimes working to conceal and thus enable that behavior over the course of years,” according to the statement.
Ellis-Gilmore’s Facebook account shows that he also goes by the name “Queen Bethe Cockhim,” and featured pictures of him dressed as a nun. Randy Fleek, a witness who spoke with police, said that Ellis-Gilmore parked his vehicle next to his trailer and opened his door to reveal he had no pants on and began “playing with himself,” according to The Daily Wire.
“There’s something wrong with that man. He’s got a weird fucking desire to show off to the public, to anybody that wants to look at him,” Fleek said. “He puts himself in a position and in a spot that you can’t help but look at the son of a bitch.”
SPI faced heavy backlash in May from Catholics after the Los Angeles Dodgers announced that they planned to honor the group with a Community Hero award on its annual Pride Night. Religious leaders and Dodgers team members blasted the decision, calling it a mockery of the Catholic faith.
Ellis-Gilmore did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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