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Bishop Lahey Child Pornography Sentencing: Disgraced Catholic Priest Gets 15 Months In Jail

Raymond Lahey

The Huffington Post Canada   First Posted: 01/04/12 10:58 AM ET Updated: 01/04/12 12:14 PM ET

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Disgraced Catholic Bishop Raymond Lahey has been sentenced to 15 months in jail for child pornography-related charges.

But Lahey will not have to serve any more jail time because he has already served eight months in prison and the judge will give him two-for-one credit for time served. Lahey pleaded guilty last May to one count of importing child pornography and voluntarily went to jail.

He will be on probation for 24 months and face a series of strict conditions, including submitting a DNA sample and registering as a sex offender. He will also have to allow searches of his personal and office computers when required by the authorities.

"It was exactly the right sentence," Lahey's lawyer Michael Edelson said to media hours after the sentence was handed down. Edelson also said that the sentence will mark Lahey for life. Edelson said that Lahey would not be speaking to the media and would not comment on what his immediate plans were.

In December, Lahey apologized for his crimes.

I am truly sorry for what I have done," Lahey told the court as he apologized for his internet porn addiction.

"I know that I've done wrong."

Lahey was found with a large cache of pornography on his laptop during an airport security check in Ottawa in 2009.

The collection included pornographic photos featuring Catholic imagery, including young boys wearing crucifixes and rosary beads engaged in sex acts, and a man dressed as a monk hitting a young boy's bare buttocks with a paddle.

There were also graphic images of bondage and torture.

"They are graphic in the extreme," Crown attorney David Elhadad said during Lahey's sentencing.

With files from the Canadian Press

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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Ken Roberts
Fighting for fairness
829 Fans
11:15 AM on 01/07/2012
The abusers never seem to be excommunicated, they "retire." In Brazil, a 9 year old girl was raped & impregnated by her step-father. Her Dr. found that her body wasn't mature enough to live through a pregnancy so her mother & he decided the only thing to be done to save her was to give her an abortion. They did and both the Dr. & the mother were immediately excommunicated. The rapist stepfather was not.
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One more Thing
546 Fans
07:44 AM on 01/06/2012
No jail time? It must pay to have a lawyer paid for by the Catholic Church!
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ThinkCreeps
Seriously, it's time.
1660 Fans
08:35 AM on 01/07/2012
Or a judge.
He was on remand for a while.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
A Dub
Conservative government is an organized hypocrisy
3328 Fans
 
07:30 PM on 01/05/2012
Christian morality strikes again.
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PinkyToe
145 Fans
05:34 PM on 01/05/2012
For anyone wanting to know if the Vatican has created a culture of coverup for the sickest of secrets, or how the Vatican systematically destroys human will during the 8-year priestly bootcamp, have a look at Rolling Stone's recent article on the Philidelphia archdiocese.

I first assumed that priests were already pedophiles before entering Catholic bootcamp, but came to realize this entire institution is permanently diseased and will pay ANY amount of money to resist change, regardless of the lives it destroys in the process.

Do take a Dramamine before reading to help suppress the inevitable nausea...

http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/the-catholic-churchs-secret-sex-crime-files-20110906
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
lastwarning2earth rev14
Woe to them that call Evil Good and Good Evil
70 Fans
01:52 PM on 01/05/2012
Too many of these guys are putting on Christ like garments.

Only to disguise their ultra sinister Evil
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maria52
I loooove Huff Po
418 Fans
12:47 PM on 01/05/2012
This disgraceful behavior has been going on for years. I think it was on 60 minutes I saw this years ago. It is absolutely appalling and hypocritical, and that's just for starters. Who would want to attend Mass ever again knowing that very same priest saying the Mass and giving sermons could be a child molester. Of course, to top it off, there were also the cover-ups. That is quite an interpretation of Christ's message. NOT. I am so ashamed for all those "clerics" and so sad for all the victims.
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Fenrir Lokison
Nope! I don't want your gold chain!
118 Fans
04:34 PM on 01/05/2012
Actually this disgraceful behavior has been going on for centuries...Even before Christianity. ALL governments and walks of life have this same issue.

I would attend as long as he is proving he is not engaging in these same acts again. Just like I would trust a liar, if they are proving not to be liars. If a murderer has earned his or her freedom and are walking the path of the law bidding citizen, I would trust them.

I feel not sorry for those who are believers who have not engaged in these acts. Those of use who understand and believe fully understand the difference when an individual fails and a whole group fails. It is not our place or power to burden the sins of those who call themselves believers and live in sin. But, to remind them of their path and the words of God. If necessary, make sure Earthly justice is done (for even though we serve a higher law, we are not free from the laws of this land) and under the guidelines that govern the application of justice.

While yes, I can see and understand why some people will see it as a cover up, however, it is no difference than what anyone else does to...

1. Ensure someone is truly guilty before letting the justice system at them.
2. Make sure the person is going to be fairly tried.
3. And make sure justice, not anger is served.
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maria52
I loooove Huff Po
418 Fans
07:10 PM on 01/05/2012
Yes, thank you for your reply. I believe in letting the offenders face justice here on earth. That is why I think it was so horrendous , (the coverup, that is) because, from what I understand, the higher-ups , when they found out about the child abuse allegations, did not investigate at all , and then, in many cases, just transferred them to another parish and let them abuse more innnocent victims. I mean, yes, you can't judge all Catholics by the actions of a few, but, the fact that there was a massive coverup, well, I can never feel the same.
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Robert Frano
Religio_Intolerance cost 359 coworkers! (11.09.01)
145 Fans
12:38 PM on 01/05/2012
Re: "There were also graphic images of bondage and torture. They are graphic in the extreme," Crown attorney David Elhadad said during Lahey's sentencing..."

Tell me again, Mr. Ratzinger: I'm "...intrinsically disordered" if I marry my boyfriend rather than my girlfriend...
But I have to be sentenced, in court, (...for child porn with religious & medieval S/m overtones) before I get worried of losing my bishopric?
Do you hear that wind-sound, Mr. Ratzinger?
It's the sound made when a canyon-shaped building has n o humans inside to interfere with wind-flow!
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maria52
I loooove Huff Po
418 Fans
01:06 PM on 01/05/2012
Yes. I posted my comment before I had read the entire article including the proof of the child pornography on his computer. That is absolutely despicable. Good thing he pleaded guilty, but what about those children that were victimized? It just so disgraceful and sickening.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
DevonTexas
Eternal Optimism
1226 Fans
 
01:26 PM on 01/05/2012
good point.
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A-Superstitionist
Keep thy superstitions to thyself and out of laws
387 Fans
12:04 PM on 01/05/2012
Geoffrey Robertson, a prominent human rights lawyer, wrote a very insightful book "The Case of the Pope, Vatican Accountability for Human Rights Abuse". It is a must-read for everyone who desires to be objectively informed. Reality is orders of magnitude worse than the little that reaches the press.
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Dragosurfer
I surf, therefore I am…..
238 Fans
11:20 AM on 01/05/2012
Like every type of crime there is, there are a percentage that get caught, and a percentage that get away with their crimes. From bank robbery to drunk driving, from rape to insurance fraud. Catholic priest molesting children is no different.

World wide since 1950, more than 10,000 catholic priest of been implicated in child molestation cases involving more than 125,000 children. How many more have gotten away with these crimes that we may never know about?

References: John Jay report, Snapnetwork.org, Irish media, Independent.ie
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GretchenMann
162 Fans
 
12:36 PM on 01/05/2012
I believe it's even a greater number of priests who have abused (http://www.bishop-accountability.org/AtAGlance/data.htm#accused_priests). Additionally, the percentage of priests who abuse is over 10% in some cities (such as Providence, RI). And you're correct..... these are only the cases in which the perpetrator is caught and/or accused. Think of all the cases that go unreported.
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Dragosurfer
I surf, therefore I am…..
238 Fans
01:14 PM on 01/05/2012
The disturbing part is that Catholics, in general, refuse to look at this data; and they continue to financially support the RCC.
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LGFuller07
70 Fans
 
10:49 AM on 01/05/2012
disgraceful
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Dragosurfer
I surf, therefore I am…..
238 Fans
10:46 AM on 01/05/2012
This problem only exist because the Catholic leadership, all the way to the pope, has systematically covered up these crimes for who knows how long (maybe 2000 years?).

Had the Catholic leadership done the right thing 60 of 70 years ago, they could have saved hundreds of millions of $$$$$$$.

I can't wait for this out-dated, Good-O'l-Boy's club to fade away into bankruptcy. The sooner the better.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
jrfunkenstein
'It's a sad and beautiful world'
543 Fans
11:39 AM on 01/05/2012
Moral bankruptcy was achieved eons ago in the Catholic church; financial bankruptcy is impossible for the wealthiest institution on Earth.
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Dragosurfer
I surf, therefore I am…..
238 Fans
12:04 PM on 01/05/2012
I agree with the "moral bankruptcy", and really hope you are wrong about the financial bankruptcy part.
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thunk
104 Fans
10:44 AM on 01/05/2012
shane van c
"This individual did not serve time for abusing children, but for fantasisin­g about it. There is a huge difference­."

It is fine that his constitutional rights were upheld and he was only convicted of what can be proven. The problem remains that children need to be protected. So go ahead and send your young son off to a weekend catholic retreat with the Bishop. After all, he's only fantasizing about abusing him and there's no proof that he'd actually do it. If I were the judge I would have given the guy the maximum sentence possible under the law, not to "punish" him, but to keep him away from children for as long as possible with the greatest certainty possible.
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lonborghini
2 Fans
10:37 AM on 01/05/2012
This is all a part of God's inscrutable plan.
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FauxGnus
30 Fans
04:34 PM on 01/05/2012
Or maybe his inscrotumal plan.
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Tracy Fortune
Geek, mother, lesbian, fair & compassionate ;^)
112 Fans
10:03 AM on 01/05/2012
...and so it goes...another child-raping priest...

It's not hard to understand. Paedophiles go to where they have power over children.

Get it?
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Veritas is Pro Life
Follower of Christ, Family Man and Marine
107 Fans
11:00 AM on 01/05/2012
Guilty until proven innocent, of course - he was proven to have terrible, illegal photos, not to have committed any physical acts.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
jrfunkenstein
'It's a sad and beautiful world'
543 Fans
11:41 AM on 01/05/2012
To which he was tried and found guilty of possession and importation of child pornography, and received a lenient sentence for time served.

Exactly how does that alleviate any fears parents would have of their children in this man's presence?
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PepCap
Pending
307 Fans
08:04 AM on 01/07/2012
If u have that type of material, u r an abuser point. if u see it any other way u should question your thoughts, unless u r a catholic priest spreading this disease! He should have been given the same sentence for each child. All these man made religions should be banned for being totally illogical and stop spreading superstitions.
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Quai DOrsay
142 Fans
 
09:00 AM on 01/05/2012
Hey!!!! what's up with these priests and children ...?
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