A priest of the Diocese of Cleveland, McWilliams was ordained a priest in May 2017. He served as parochial vicar at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Strongsville, Ohio, until his arrest in December 2019.
The Diocese of Cleveland told Ohio media that they first heard of his death on Friday afternoon, saying, “We place this and all difficult situations in the hands of God. We will continue to pray for those hurt by his actions. May God be the source of their healing.”
According to court documents, McWilliams had thousands of photos and videos of child pornography, which were located and seized from a search at McWilliams’ residence at St. Joseph Catholic Church in 2019.
Authorities also claimed that McWilliams forced teenage boys to provide him with sexually explicit images. McWilliams had become acquainted with some of his victims during his time in seminary while serving at a parish.
McWilliams also posed as a girl on social media websites, and contacted his victims under the guise of the identity of a teenage girl. He would then blackmail the teen boys in order to continue receiving explicit images.
A 26-page sentencing brief includes the experiences of at least five victims, all of whom were minors. The brief also states that McWilliams was using apps like TextMe and TextNow to hide his phone number when communicating with minors. Additionally, according to the brief, McWilliams used Craigslist and the mobile app Grindr to locate young males and arrange sexual encounters.
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