OHIO
Cincinnati.com
Cameron Knight, cknight@enquirer.com
A former seminarian who had studied at Thomas More College was sentenced in San Diego to nearly 16 years in prison for trying to adopt or purchase infants from Mexico to sexually molest them.
Joel Wright of Ohio pleaded guilty in April to a federal charge of attempted enticement of a minor. A judge on Friday sentenced him to 15 years, eight months.
Wright placed Craigslist ads for a Tijuana tour guide, then told someone who responded that he wanted a baby girl for sex. Wright acknowledged sending explicit emails describing his desires to assault children, from infants up to the age of 4.
The person he contacted was cooperating with authorities, and Wright was arrested when he flew into San Diego in January.
Wright was a seminarian in the Columbus diocese, but he was also sponsored by the Steubenville diocese in Ohio. He also studied in Kentucky and is originally from Vermont, according to the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP).
Rev. John Allen, vice president for advancement at Pontifical College Josephinum, said Wright began attending the school last fall and that he’d undergone a battery of psychological tests, interviews and a background check before being accepted. Wright lost his status at the seminary when he left the campus without authorization.
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