A policeman in Bavaria faces a possible jail term of up to three years for  disturbing a religious service by allegedly having sex in the gallery of a Catholic church.

Regional police spokesman Hans-Peter Kammerer tells the German news agency DAPD that a visitor discovered the off-duty 26-year-old policeman with a woman  in the church in Rennertshofen in Bavaria during an early morning service last week.

The couple fled, but a church employee recognized the policeman, who works in the nearby town of Ingolstadt, the Associated Press reports.

Kammerer says the officer has been suspended, faces further disciplinary action and could face criminal charges for “disruption of a religious practice.”

The Bild tabloid  says the priest was appalled.

“It makes me deeply sad when people no longer have an inhibition threshold,” the priest is quoted as saying.