A Mahwah New Jersey man who served as a priest in Union NJ could be on his way to prison after pleading guilty to very serious criminal charges for distribution of child pornography in Pennsylvania.
According to prosecutors, the suspect used the Internet to upload illicit sexual images of juveniles. The suspect reportedly committed the sexual offenses by downloading child pornography at his second home in Gouldsboro, which is in Wayne County, PA. He later uploaded the child pornography at least 20 times.
The suspect avoided trial on the sex crime charges by reaching a plea deal with Wayne County PA prosecutors and pleading guilty to charges for dissemination of child pornography.
The suspect will have to return to court on June 8 for a formal sentencing hearing. It’s possible that the suspect could be sentenced to up to eight years in prison.
The suspect reportedly has a record of sexually abusing minors. He allegedly molested a teen boy in the 1980s, but he never faced criminal charges.
When he was recently arrested, the suspect was serving as a vicar at Holy Spirit Church in Union Township and also as a youth group minister in Union County, New Jersey. However, he has now been removed from his position with the church.
For more information about this case, read the NJ.com article, “New Jersey Priest Pleads Guilty to Child Porn Charge.”