Fridley Priest’s Edina Apartment Searched for Child Pornography

Sun-Current
March 3, 2016

http://current.mnsun.com/2016/03/03/fridley-priests-edina-apartment-searched-for-child-pornography/

After multiple calls to Edina Police throughout the past few years, Edina Police executed a search warrant Feb. 18 for possible possession of child pornography at a Fridley priest’s Edina apartment.

The priest, who has not been charged with any crime, is not being named by the Sun Current at this time. Edina Police searched his home among allegations of child pornography possession.

Neighbors in his Edina apartment complex reportedly called police several times over the past four years to report noises of a child who seemed to be crying or in distress, according to the Police Department’s search warrant. Each of the calls found there to be no children present in the apartment.

The priest, who serves as a pastor at Church of St. William in Fridley, took a voluntary leave of absence following the search, according to a statement from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis on Feb. 19.

“The Archdiocesan Office of Ministerial Standards and Safe Environment has cooperated, and continues to cooperate, with the Edina Police Department,” according to the statement.

The statement said the priest was cooperating with the police department and would remain on leave of absence pending the results of the investigation.