Catholic Rage Over Church Sex Stunt
A Virginia couple accused of having sex inside St. Patrick's Cathedral to earn prizes from a pair of radio "shock jocks" was heckled as they left a Manhattan courthouse.
"God is mad at you!" shouted one angry man as the pair walked silently past. "You should be ashamed of yourselves!"
Brian Florence, 37, of Quantico, Virginia, and Loretta Lynn Harper, 35, of Alexandria, Virginia, were due back in court Oct. 2 to face charges of public lewdness.
The Virginia couple was arrested last week after having sex in a vestibule a few feet from worshippers inside the church, police said. The incident was part of a regular feature where couples can win prizes from radio station WNEW for having sex in risky places.
An eyewitness phones the radio station and reports the scene as couples have sex.
The Catholic League, a 350,000-member group, has urged the Federal Communications Commission to revoke WNEW's license and impose a hefty fine on its owner, Infinity Broadcasting, which owns 180 stations nationwide. [CBS and Infinity Broadcasting are both owned by Viacom.]
State Supreme Court Justice Analisa Torres, agreeing with prosecutors, denied a defense request for the couple to skip the next court date and remain in Virginia.
"Anyone who travels to New York to commit a crime can come to New York for a court date," said Assistant District Attorney Tara Cook-Littman.
Defense attorney Melissa Fritz, who says the couple was just simulating sex, declined to comment outside court.
WNEW-FM pulled two DJs — Greg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia
off the air following the couple's alleged antics inside the landmark midtown Manhattan cathedral.
WNEW also suspended its general manager and program director over the incident. The couple's amorous encounter was recounted live on air by an eyewitness who worked for the Opie and Anthony show.
The station declined to comment Wednesday on how long the suspensions would last or how long the two DJs would remain silenced. The New York Post reported that the DJs were still being paid and earned more than $3 million a year.
FCC Commissioner Michael Copps said he had received hundreds of outraged phone calls and e-mails about the incident.
If the complaints prove true, "this commission should consider the strongest enforcement action possible against this station, up to and including revocation," Copps said.