Catholic Priest Sentenced To 50 Years For Child Pornography

KANSAS CITY (MO)
KCUR

[with audio]

By DAN VERBECK AND STEVE BELL

Shawn Ratigan, a 47-year-old Catholic priest convicted of making child pornography, was sentenced to 50 years by a Kansas City federal judge Thursday afternoon.

Judge Gary Fenner labeled Ratigan a pedophile in serial fashion.

Minutes before, Ratigan choked back emotion as he told the judge, “Fifteen years is a lot of time, but fifty, come on.”

Parents of the two-year-old girl photographed by Ratigan said they never want their child to see him again. The mother of the child said her daughter considered the priest her “best friend.”

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