Former DeSales University priest pleads guilty on child porn charge

WILMINGTON (DE)
WFMZ-TV, Ch. 69 [Allentown PA]

July 28, 2022

A former DeSales University priest who had ties to the Royal Family in Europe has pleaded guilty in a child pornography case.

William McCandless, of Wilmington, Delaware, pleaded guilty to a charge of attempting to access with intent to view child pornography, according to online court documents.

As part of the plea deal, prosecutors agreed to drop the other two charges of transporting and possessing child porn, says the document, which was filed in May.

Both parties agree to a sentence of 30-37 months in prison, but McCandless could face the maximum time of 10 years in prison when he is sentenced in November.

McCandless was accused of gathering thousands of child pornography images in Monaco, where he was an advisor to the Royal Family, and bringing them back to the U.S. in January 2017, just a few days before he started working at DeSales.

He was fired from DeSales in October 2017 when the school learned of the investigation.

https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/lehighvalley/former-desales-university-priest-pleads-guilty-on-child-porn-charge/article_cac6bda6-0f48-11ed-b41a-9f1595b7e9d3.html