KENTUCKY
WAVE
[with video]
By Joey Brown, Digital Content Manager
LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) – Parents of St. Margaret Mary students whose children can be identified in photos found on Fr. Stephen Pohl’s digital devices will be offered the option of viewing the pictures within the next few weeks, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Pohl was sentenced in U.S. District Court on Tuesday for accessing child pornography while pastor at St. Margaret Mary parish in St. Matthews. Judge David J. Hale sentenced him to 33 months in prison, a $7,500 fine, and a lifetime of supervised release. The prison sentence is four-months shorter than had been recommended. There is no parole in the federal criminal justice system.
Prosecutors stressed that although no pornographic pictures of children who attend St. Margaret Mary were located on Pohl’s digital devices, parents remain concerned about the content of the photos and identities of the students who are depicted in them. For that reason, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI are in the process of identifying students in photos that were recovered from Pohl’s seized devices. They will contact the parents of identifiable students soon by mail. A general list will not be published or distributed.
As a mother to two students at St. Margaret Mary School, Jill Higginbotham said there will be some build-up as parents wait to see if their children were photographed, including her own.
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