KENTUCKY
WDRB
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The parents of children who attended St. Margaret Mary School have filed a lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Bishop of Louisville, fighting to keep roughly 200 pictures of children and other evidence from being destroyed and alleging that the church was grossly negligent and displayed “outrageous conduct” when it hired and retained a priest who would later plead guilty to a child pornography charge.
The investigation began after a child told his mother Pohl took pictures of him that made him feel “weird.” When the child’s parents confronted Pohl, they say they saw similar pictures of another child and reported that to police.
Father Stephen Pohl, who pleaded guilty to a child pornography charge, was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison, plus supervised release and a $7,500 fine in criminal court Tuesday afternoon.
The lawsuit was also filed Tuesday.
“We trusted them. We placed our trust in them and that our children would be safe under their care,” said plaintiff Christeena Gallahue.
According to the lawsuit, Gallahue went to St. Margaret Mary School in August 2014 to pick up her children, when she saw her 7-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter sitting on the steps being photographed by Stephen Pohl, who used to be the pastor there. The lawsuit states that Pohl, “acted very nervous and startled, all of which was out of character for Pohl.” He allegedly told the mother that he would send her the pictures that he took, but he never did. The following month, the 7-year-old began “acting defiantly,” according to the lawsuit.
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