BOISE (ID)
Idaho Statesman
February 12, 2018
By Ruth Brown
Until his recent arrest, Catholic Church officials say they didn’t investigate any complaints about the Rev. W. Thomas Faucher because they had none.
If the Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise had been aware of allegations of sexual misconduct against 72-year-old Faucher before his arrest, it would have followed existing policy, officials said.
Faucher, a longtime Catholic priest in Boise, was arrested last week on accusations of possessing and sharing child pornography, and possessing drugs such as marijuana and ecstasy. Prosecutors have no reason to believe any of the images were of local children, though they had not verified all of the victims’ identities last week.
The diocese’s 63-page policy is readily available and easily accessible. But it’s unclear how often the diocese investigates complaints of sexual misconduct, because investigations are not public record.
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