NEW YORK
Staten Island Advance
By Maura Grunlund | grunlund@siadvance.com
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A former Midland Beach pastor will not face charges from the Manhattan district attorney’s office after child pornography was allegedly found on his computers.
The Rev. Keith Fennessy was barred from priestly ministry and booted from his position as pastor of St. Columba’s R.C. Church in Manhattan on June 15, 2015, by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York.
An archdiocesan review board determined that Father Fennessy had images of minors on his personal and office computers that violated the church’s Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. Dolan accepted the board’s recommendation that Father Fennessy no longer be allowed to serve as a priest, according to Catholic New York and Joseph Zwilling, communications director for the archdiocese.
The archdiocese referred Father Fennessy’s case to the district attorneys’ offices in both Staten Island and Manhattan. A Staten Island source with knowledge of the investigation said that the case was handled by the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
“This matter was referred to our office in mid-2015,” said Joan Vollero, director of communications for the Manhattan district attorney’s office. “The investigation has concluded and no criminal charges were brought.”
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