CANADA
Cape Breton Post
By Greg McNeil – Cape Breton Post
SYDNEY — Raymond Lahey’s sentence, handed out in an Ottawa court on Wednesday, was too light, according to an informal survey of area residents.
The former bishop of the diocese of Antigonish was sentenced to 15 months in jail and two years probation based on his 2009 arrest for possessing pornographic photos of young boys. He pleaded guilty in May to possession of child pornography for the purpose of importation.
“The issue here seems to be that the crime is more heinous in a sense because of the circumstances,” said Scott Stewart, chair of the department of philosophy and religious studies at Cape Breton University.
“He’s not just a priest, but a bishop, and I guess also the fact that he was in the middle of settling an abuse case, so certainly was aware of the problems with that. I guess (I’m) disappointed that those extra factors weren’t calculated into the penalty.”
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