Another attempt at parental child abduction by Episcopal priest Daniel McClain

Daniel McClain, the rector-elect of St. Paul’s Episcopal in Dayton, has yet again run the Jolly Roger up the mast, further revealing the depth and breadth of his manipulative and abusive conduct.

Per ex parte filings with the Montgomery County OH Court of Common Pleas, Daniel McClain allegedly engaged in another round of attempted self help by telling his wife, Kate, less than an hour before he was due to return the children to her for court-ordered parenting time, that the kids refused to go with him.

Daniel McClain’s claim is laughable.

For started, McClain has never cared what anything thinks or sought consensus. Time after time, his conduct at St. Paul’s and elsewhere evinces a “win at all costs” approach in which he seeks to crush the opposition. So the notion that he cannot tell the kids what to do is ludicrous.

Then we turn to some of the other issues flagged in the motion, which was granted by the Court. For example, the eldest McClain child still has not completed high school, although Daniel has falsely told others that he has.

Daniel McClain lie? Imagine that.

Next, there is the issue of Daniel’s disingenuous and duplicitous objections to the children being enrolled in a hybrid home-schooling program. There are three offensive components to Daniel’s pleadings:

1. His attorney flouts attorney disciplinary Rule 3.3’s ethical obligation of candor to the tribunal by misleading the Court about accreditation. Specifically, Ohio has not required accreditation since 2015, so both Daniel McClain and Adam Mesaros, his attorney, are trying to pull a fast one on the Court. Our expectation is that Mesaros will promptly correct the fabrication set forth in his filings.
2. Mesaros claims that the children would benefit from a brick-and-mortar school. That is yet another attempt to pull the wool over the Court’s eyes—last we checked, Branches & Vines is exactly that, a brick-and-mortar school.
3. Daniel’s objections conveniently omit the fact that state records suggest that, as late as 2023, he was operating a home school for his children. The organization was the Bonaventure Center for Education, with world headquarters located at Daniel’s apartment at 1505 Shroyer Road, Apartment 2, Oakwood, OH 45419. The phone number listed is Daniel’s mobile phone, 757-775-3737, and the email is [email protected]. (No, this is not doxxing, Daniel McClain himself supplied this information, which is now in official Ohio state records.)

Dan’s bogus pleading

Next, we turn to a related pleading, which is Daniel’s motion, filed with the Court on August 16, seeking to have his home designated as the childrens’ residence for purposes of school placement.

At the highest level, the motion is telling: The only time Daniel McClain obeys the rule of law and follows Court orders is when all else fails. Moreover, McClain’s efforts are part of a pattern and practice that we have seen at every point in this litigation. We hope the Court will smack Dan hard over his contemptuous behavior—jail time would not be inappropriate.

Moreover, there is no substance to the pleading, as we’ve already seen that Daniel’s objections to home schooling are bogus and, if taken seriously, indict his own decision to home school the children via the “Bonaventure Center for Education.”

Gaslight much, Dan?

Then we come to the practical issues. As Tricia Duff, attorney for Dan’s wife Kate, correctly notes—when Daniel isn’t home, who’s going to supervise the kids? His adulterous partner, Erin O’Rourke?

Sorry, folks, having an adulterous partner living with the kids is, per se, a bad idea.

Then we come to Daniel’s efforts to play the system by having the kids file a police report alleging manipulation by their mother, which Mesaros then tries to leverage into amorphous “safety concerns.” (Curiously, Mesaros appears to have omitted the contents of these reports, even as he puts the childrens’ names into his pleadings. The word “redaction” comes to mind.)

As we have previously reported, Daniel has been trying to manipulate the children and public perceptions for years, including falsely telling parishioners at St. Paul’s that his wife is mentally ill.

That is a catch-22 on Daniel’s part; assuming, arguendo, that his claim were true, then he would have no business telling parishioners that.

Indeed, part of being a successful priest is maintaining healthy boundaries, and going around telling parishioners that your wife is mentally ill is a prime example of worst-case practices. Not to mention being a canonical violation of the obligation to safeguard confidential information.

So, to be clear: We have zero doubt that Daniel and his eldest son have pressured the other kids into saying they are mistreated by their mother. Indeed, the only criticism we have of Kate is that she appears to be a little too tolerant of bad behavior by the kids—but that is a difficult line to draw, as Dan appears to teach the children to disrespect her.

Anglican Watch is publishing both the ex parte motion that Daniel return the kids to his wife (which the Court granted), and Daniel’s ludicrous pleading trying to get residency for the kids established at his joint home with his adulterous buddy, Erin O’Rourke.

Reynoldsburg City Schools

Meanwhile, we reiterate our unwavering opposition to Daniel McClain serving as a teacher in the Reynoldsburg City Schools. Our specific reasons include, but are not limited to:

1. The unresolved allegations that Daniel McClain misappropriated church funds.
2. Daniel McClain’s ongoing refusal to act in the best interests of his own children.
3. Daniel McClain’s history of alleged, emotional and relational domestic abuse.
4. Daniel McClain’s abusive conduct towards members of his own church.

Put succinctly, when as here there are credible allegations of domestic abuse of any sort — not just sexual or physical — the perpetrator should NOT have access to children or other vulnerable populations.

Thus, parents in the Reynoldsburg City Schools can and should voice their concerns about the city giving Daniel McClain access to their children.

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Ex parte emergency motion, which was granted, forces Dan McClain to comply with Court orders regarding parenting time after another attempt on his part at parental abduction:

 

Daniel McClain tries to get the Court to deem his residence with adulterous Erin O’Rourke as his childrens’ home for purposes of school attendance: