It took a chase, a brutal fistfight, and a call for backup to subdue a 72-year-old British priest after women complained he groped them on a train. The struggle reportedly left two officers with cuts and a broken nose.

Father Peter Slocombe, a Catholic priest at Saint Joseph’s Church in Gloucestershire and a chaplain at the University of Gloucester, was enjoying a holiday trip to Italy. The police were called in on Monday after two women complained that the traveling clergyman groped their breasts and behinds at Rome’s Termini train station.

The priest fled the scene, and had to be chased for several minutes before the officers caught up, it is said. Once they did, Father Slocombe decided he wouldn’t go down without a fight.

“This guy was crazy. He was punching and kicking out at the officers,” a police spokesperson, quoted by The Sun, said.

Read more

Police said that during the fight, Father Slocombe, dressed in plain clothes, shouted that he was innocent and “a man of the cloth” as officers tried to subdue him. They managed to overpower the handsy priest after calling for backup.

Two officers were admitted to the hospital as result of the fight. One ended up with a broken nose, and both had cuts and bruises, it is reported.

The priest was sentenced to two years and eight months of house arrest at a Vatican training college. He was also ordered to pay €5,000 ($5,800) to each of the injured officers.

Slocombe was “shocked” by the verdict, his lawyer told the British media, as the clergyman denied all the allegations and plans to appeal the court’s decision.

“The train was crowded, and he said he had his hands in his pockets all the time because he was afraid of pickpockets,” a member of the priest’s legal team argued.

Like this story? Share it with a friend!