MISSOURI
Fox 4
Posted on: 11:03 am, May 16, 2013, by Michelle Pekarsky
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Computers and computer equipment will be returned to the rectory office of St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Independence, Mo., after forensic results show no child pornography inside them.
Federal investigators confiscated all the potential evidence in March after discovering that on February 5, between 6:30 and 7:30 in the morning, there were two downloads of child pornography from peer-to-peer file sharing sites to an IP address registered at St. Ann’s church rectory, where the priest, Father Bernard Branson lives.
The church had an open Wifi system, which allows for the possibility that someone outside the parish used the ‘free’ Internet service to make the downloads. To determine if this is what happened, investigators seized four desktop computers and towers from inside the church rectory.
Police said the staff at St. Ann and the diocesan personnel fully cooperated with the investigation.
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