Cops launched an investigation into distribution of pornographic material and public indecency after a video of a raunchy couple having sex behind the altar of a church went viral.
In the video, which was shot at the Sint-Michielskerk Church in the city of Bree in Belgium, the pair can be seen having sex in the sacred place, reported The Sun. The man can be seen occasionally groping his partner's waist with one hand and shooting the video with another. It is not clear when it was made, but it first started getting circulated on WhatsApp then spread on other social media.
Staff members of the Catholic church were left disgusted by the act and had to "cleanse" the area with holy water.
Cops have identified the two suspects, who were interrogated. The couple admitted to it, and following the interrogation, they were brought before the Public Prosecution Service, reported. The couple needs to follow a trajectory "that makes them reflect on the facts and their impact."
"The police have announced that a double report has officially been drawn up," said Bree mayor Liesbeth Van der Auwera.
The incident "exceeded all boundaries of decency, respect, and fairness," said Sint-Michielskerk Church spokesman Ernest Essers. He said that he got the video via WhatsApp on Oct. 29, and called it "public defamation."
For several years, the neo-Gothic church building was closed for restoration, but since last summer it has been open to the public, according to The Brussels Times. Public can enter the church between 8.00 am to 5.00 pm, and after that, someone comes to close the church door. Essers said that people do walk in to the church to look at the restoration, but "not in the way that couple did."
Essers was all for filing a police complaint, but also said that they wanted to handle the situation in a discreet manner. He added that the incident had overwhelmed the staff of the church. Pastor-deacon Jaak Janssen of Bree told VRT NWS that he found it absolutely unacceptable, and said that it is not just "public indecency, but they are also simply abusing the church."
