Melissa Cheng was arrested along with Mindy Dixon and Rev. Travis Clark after a passerby witnessed the trio allegedly having sex on the altar with a camera and tripod filming the scene at Pearl River Church.
A dominatrix who was arrested last week along with a fellow paid professional and a Louisiana priest has spoken out on a GoFundMe page about being "paralyzed with anxiety" ever since she was charged with obscenity. Melissa Cheng was arrested along with Mindy Dixon and Rev. Travis Clark after a passerby witnessed the trio allegedly having sex on the altar with a camera and tripod filming the scene at Pearl River Church, Inside Edition Digital previously reported.
"I've been paralyzed with anxiety and fatigue today, unable to think of much else than this situation," Cheng wrote on Oct. 11 the fundraiser page she created to pay for her time off work, legal and medical fees, and to pay for the content lost when the police seized her film and lighting equipment.
So far she has raised over $10,400 of her $15,000 goal.
The fundraising platform placed Cheng's account "under review" prohibiting her from withdrawing funds. But on Oct. 12 Cheng wrote that her fund withdrawals were approved and said that she is now breathing “a happy sigh of fresh air!”
The lights were apparently on in the church and the 37-year-old pastor was allegedly half-naked having sex with two women dressed in corsets and high-heeled boots on Sept 30 just before 11 p.m., according to the court documents obtained by Nola.com.
"I haven't been able to work since I made bond," she wrote. "I've been gifted acupuncture session for the third time this past week today. That's been helping my health at least to the degree which it can."
The observer called the police who arrested Clark, still partially wearing his priestly attire, and the two women, 41-year-old Mindy Dixon and 23-year-old Melissa Cheng, according to the outlet which cited court documents. Cops determined that the sexual acts that evening were consensual, but the players involved were charged based on, "obscene acts [that] occurred on the altar, which is clearly visible from the street," the report said. Sex toys were allegedly scattered around and a mobile phone and another camera were mounted on tripods, the documents said.
The women reportedly told police that Clark allowed them to be there and was recording themselves in "role play," the report said.
Dixon, according to public records obtained by Nola.com, is an adult film actor who also works for-hire as a dominatrix. A dominatrix is a woman who plays a dominating or sadistic role in sexual activities. The outlet says it found a post on her social media announcing the day before that she was on her way to New Orleans to meet a fellow dominatrix where they would "defile a house of God."
“It is very regrettable that Ms. Dixon and Ms. Cheng are being presented to the world as criminals when, in fact, they have done nothing wrong," Bradley Phillips, the lawyer representing both Cheng and Dixon, said in a statement to Inside Edition Digital. "All parties involved were consenting adults. Everything that occurred took place behind closed doors, on private property, and none of the conduct alleged was criminal in nature."
His statement continued, "The fact that this involved a priest or took place in a church is completely irrelevant. The only pertinent question is if it took place in view of the public. Clearly, that is not the case. The evidence will show that an individual had to enter the church’s private property and look through a window to see what was taking place. By definition, then, it was not in public view."
"The fact that Ms. Dixon and Ms. Cheng are being vilified like this is quite frankly, appalling. I understand that people may be upset by this situation, but that does not make this conduct illegal or criminal in any way. I would implore anyone seeking to pass judgment to direct their energy elsewhere."
When reached by Inside Edition Digital, Phillips was not immediately available to comment.
The Archdiocese of New Orleans said the alleged sexual acts were performed by Clark and announced that he was removed from the church.
"His obscene behavior was deplorable, his desecration of the church was demonic and I am infuriated by his actions. When the details came out of the case we had the altar removed and burned," Archbishop Aymond said in a video statement.
Clark was released from jail on $25,000 bond. Cheng, of Georgia, and Kent, of Washington, both posted bonds of $7,500, according to records obtained by Nola.com
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