Pennsylvania Priest To Spend Eight Years In Prison For Child Pornography

After all of the stories of Catholic priests being accused of child abuse, among other atrocities, you would think they would have learned by now. Apparently for one Roman Catholic in Pennsylvania, the point hadn’t been driven home yet.

A suspended Pittsburgh-area priest will be sent to prison for more than eight years after having been discovered in possession of thousands of images of child pornography on his computer, books, and compact discs. Rev. Bartley Sorensen received more than the five-year mandatory minimum Wednesday but less than the 10-year maximum he faced, according to Yahoo News.

Sorensen, 63, was arrested by Allegheny County authorities in December 2011 after an employee at St. John Fisher Parish found him looking at a photo of a young boy sans underpants on his computer. An arrest affidavit said the female employee saw the image appeared to be a five to 10-year-old boy under the caption “Hottie Boys” on the priest’s computer in his residence.

Allegheny County police arrested Sorensen and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh removed him from active ministry and placed him on leave.

FOX News reports that Federal officials took over the investigation after a search revealed thousands of child pornography images, some of them sadomasochistic.

Sorensen pleaded guilty in May, expressing remorse to everyone but the young boys depicted in images on his computer. He is scheduled to appear in court this Friday on Federal charges.

Sorry, Reverend, God may forgive you, but the courts and likely thousands of others feel otherwise.