By Jorge Barrera
Canada.com
October 7, 2009
http://www.canada.com/news/Travel+notorious+countries+raised+child+porn +suspicions+about+bishop+Raymond+Lahey+Documents/2083261/story.html
A former Nova Scotia bishop now facing child pornography charges initially was flagged by customs authorities when he landed at the Ottawa airport because his passport revealed extensive travel to countries notorious as sources of the illicit material, a court document alleges.
When Raymond Lahey, 69, stepped off a flight from England at the Ottawa International Airport on Sept. 15, a customs agent flagged him for secondary inspection after examining his passport and noticing the bishop had "extensive travel to source countries for child pornography," according to the document.
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| A former Nova Scotia bishop now facing child pornography charges initially was flagged by customs authorities when he landed at the Ottawa airport because his passport revealed extensive travel to countries notorious as sources of the illicit material, a court document alleges. Photo by Chris Wattie |
The document — an information to obtain a search warrant — said Lahey had visited Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Spain and Germany since 2005.
The officer also noticed that Lahey was "evasive" with his answers, avoided "eye contact" and changed his "vocal tone" during specific questions, according to the document.
"When (the agent) asked if he had a laptop computer, Lahey hesitated and replied 'yes,'" the document states.
During the secondary inspection, another agent with Canada Border Services Agency found three images of boys in various sexual acts on his laptop.
The agent determined it was child pornography and arrested him for smuggling the material into Canada, according to the document, which was used by Ottawa police to seize Lahey's laptop and several electronic devices, which were in the possession of customs authorities.
Lahey was charged on Sept. 25 with possessing and importing child pornography. The next day he resigned his position as bishop of the Diocese of Antigonish — though his only explanation for leaving was he needed time for "personal renewal."
Lahey is scheduled for a court appearance Friday.
Before he resigned, Lahey had overseen a historic, $15-million, out-of-court settlement with people who were sexually abused as children by a former priest at the diocese.
Lahey was given refuge this week by the Archdiocese of Ottawa at one its residences for priests. Lahey had nowhere to go, said Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast in a statement.
"In Christian charity, and believing it is the action that our Lord would want us to take, I have accepted that he stay," said Prendergast.
After Lahey was detained, he was interrogated by detectives from customs and the Ottawa police, the document said. Lahey told the officers the laptop belonged to him and that "he was attracted to males aged 20 to 21," said the document.
A forensic examination of Lahey's hard drive revealed at least five photos depicting mostly nude boys between the ages of eight and 12 in various poses and engaged in sexual acts. One of the boys had dark complexion, the other was blond.
The photos depicted various backdrops including a fallen log, a bench, a wooden bridge or deck, a couch and a swimming pool.
Police indicated they wanted to seize four USB memory sticks, three memory cards, two cellphones and one PDA, which Lahey carried with him when he landed in Canada, according to the document, signed by Ottawa police Det. Dan Melchiorre.
Lahey's arrest stunned Catholics from coast to coast. But the news has hit Nova Scotia especially hard.
"We are in a very complicated place. It's terribly painful," said Marilyn Sweet, an official with the Archdiocese of Halifax.
Sweet said she knew that Lahey had travelled to Thailand and had mentioned how beautiful he found the country.
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