SPEAKIN’ OUT NEWS
A north Alabama woman who has accused a prominent Catholic priest of paying her nearly $400,000 for sex has been arrested on an unrelated charge.
Heather Lynn Jones, 33, was booked into the Marshall County Jail on Aug. 21 on a misdemeanor charge of practicing law without a license. She was released the next day after posting a $6,000 bond through a bail bondsman. Records show her bond was initially set at $1,000 but increased after she tested positive for methamphetamine.
Earlier this month, Jones went public with allegations against Fr. Bob Sullivan, 61, pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in Homewood. In an interview with The Guardian, she claimed Sullivan paid her through wire transfers, Venmo payments, and a proposed non-disclosure agreement.
According to The Guardian, Jones provided:
- A draft NDA allegedly offering $273,000 for her silence.
- Bank records showing two wire transfers totaling $273,000 in March 2024.
- Documentation of more than 125 Venmo payments totaling nearly $120,000 between July 2024 and March 2025.
Jones said she met Sullivan in 2009 at age 17, while working in a strip club where he was a patron. The legal age for exotic dancers in Alabama is 19. She told The Guardian she struggled to reconcile Sullivan’s “public role and private behavior.”
Sullivan announced Aug. 2 he was taking personal leave from parish duties, effective Aug. 4. He remains on leave. Efforts to reach his attorney were unsuccessful.
Marshall County District Attorney Jennifer Bray said Jones attempted to represent a 36-year-old man, possibly her boyfriend, in drug court. “She filed motions acting as an attorney, and she’s not an attorney,” Bray said.
Her trial is set for October.