Illinois Priest Was Trapped In Bondage Gear Because He Put His Handcuffs On Upside Down Share

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By now, you have likely listened several times to the muffled 911 call placed by the Catholic priest who enjoyed slipping into a bondage mask and handcuffs inside a church rectory in Springfield, Illinois.

In late-November, Rev. Thomas Donovan called police to report that he was trapped in the cuffs and needed assistance “before this becomes a medical emergency.”

As detailed in a Springfield Police Department report, when officers arrived at St. Aloysius Church at 4:45 AM on November 28, they found the priest wearing an orange jumpsuit and a “leather bondage type mask with bar in his mouth.” He was also handcuffed behind his back.

Donovan, seen at right, declined medical treatment after he was uncuffed by cops, who asked if anyone else was in the rectory. The priest, who said he was alone, told officers that he “put himself in this configuration and does this [from] time to time.”

Donovan explained to police that “this time he put the handcuffs on with the keyhole up instead of down,” which kept him from freeing himself with a handcuff key (which he showed to officers). The cops left after Donovan apologized to them.

The priest, now on leave from his post with the Diocese of Springfield, did not further detail why he placed himself in such an unorthodox “configuration.” Or maybe merciful cops chose not to memorialize his explanation in their report.

Listen to Donovan’s 911 call here: