BOISE (ID)
Idaho Press-Tribune
February 2, 2018
A retired Boise priest from St. Mary’s Catholic Church was arrested Friday on a charge of sexual exploitation of a child.
Attorney General Lawrence Wasden announced in a press release that 72-year-old W. Thomas Faucher was transported to the Ada County Jail Friday, following an investigation and arrest by the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children unit.
Rev. John Worster, pastor at St. Mary’s, confirmed to the Idaho Press-Tribune that Faucher was on staff at St. Mary’s and retired in 2015. Worster said Faucher was still preaching intermittently, by invitation.
Worster confirmed that law enforcement searched Faucher’s residence, which is owned by St. Mary’s. Worster said it’s not uncommon for church staff to rent apartments owned by the church.
Investigators obtained a search warrant for Faucher’s Boise residence and executed the warrant Friday afternoon, according to the press release from the Attorney General’s Office. The investigation began with a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, according to the release.
“I was aware this afternoon that the search warrant was being investigated,” Worster told the Idaho Press-Tribune in a phone call. “I found professional staff there (at the residence). Police officers were doing their jobs.”
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