A federal grand jury in Pennsylvania returned an indictment on Friday, September 23, 2022, charging a Bucks County man for assaulting a 72-year-old volunteer escort for a Planned Parenthood women’s health clinic in Philadelphia.
According to court documents, Mark Houck, 48, of Kintnersville, Pennsylvania, is alleged to have twice assaulted a man because he was a volunteer reproductive health clinic escort.
The victim served as an escort at the Planned Parenthood clinic for 30 years, helping protect women from the kind of violence Houck allegedly inflicted.
Catholic News Agency identified Houck as the co-founder of the King’s Men, a ministry that claims to give ‘spiritual formation’ to Catholic men but actually, advocates forced-birth in Pennsylvania
“This fascist abuser of the elderly, Mark Houck, is the president of a “pro-men” Catholic ministry obsessed with porn.
The two-count indictment charges Houck with a violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which makes it a federal crime to use force with the intent to injure, intimidate, and interfere with anyone because that person is a provider of reproductive health care.
The charges stem from two separate incidents on Oct. 13, 2021, where Houck assaulted the victim, identified in the indictment as “B.L.,” a volunteer escort at the reproductive health care clinic.
The charges stem from two separate incidents both on October 13, 2021, which occurred at the Planned Parenthood Elizabeth Blackwell Health Center on Locust Street in Philadelphia, where Houck allegedly assaulted man because was a volunteer escort at the reproductive health care clinic.
In the first incident, the man was attempting to escort two patients exiting the clinic when Houck forcefully shoved him to the ground. In the second incident, Houck allegedly confronted the man and shoved him to the ground in front of the Planned Parenthood center, causing injuries that required medical attention.
“He assaulted a 72-year-old man twice, in what appears to be contrary to Christian teaching.
If convicted of the offenses, Houck faces up to a maximum of 11 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and fines of up to $350,000.
The FBI Philadelphia Field Office investigated the case.