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  Priest Gets 2 Years for Child Porn, Abuse

By CTK
Prague Daily Monitor
February 21, 2008

http://www.praguemonitor.com/en/278/czech_national_news/18968/

Plzen, West Bohemia, Feb 20 (CTK) - The Plzen-mesto district court Wednesday sentenced Czech priest Zbynek Schneider to the 2-year suspended sentence for dissemination of child pornography, sexual abuse of underage girls and harming their morals.

The former educator in the Plzen Salesian Youth Centre could have been sentenced up to eight years in prison.

The court ruled that Schneider, 39, was guilty of dissemination of pornography and other criminal acts. He was ordered compulsory sexological treatment and banned his profession for ten years.

Schneider confessed to having downloaded pornography to his computer from the Internet, but denied having spread it deliberately.

He said he had everything used for his own needs.

Schneider denied any abuse of the girls.

He said the indictment was wrong in its claim that as the head educator he immorally touched young schoolgirls during various games.

He also denied having photographed the girls aged eight to twelve years.

The police took up the case after it was tipped by a man who received child porn through e-mail in Moravia.

The detectives found out that the photos had been spread from Plzen.

The man worked in the Plzen centre since 2002. He left after the case had been disclosed to the public.

Now he reportedly works in the archives of the Prague Salesian Province. He is a theology graduate.

 
 

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