Suspended priest sentenced to 20 years in child porn case

PENNSYLVANIA
Houston Chronicle

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A suspended suburban Philadelphia priest has been sentenced to 20 years in prison on a child pornography conviction.

Fifty-six-year-old Mark Haynes of West Chester pleaded guilty in June to using the Internet to entice a minor to engage in sexual contact as well as to possession and distribution of child pornography and destroying or concealing evidence.

Prosecutors said that around 2010 Haynes posed as a 16-year-old girl named “Katie” on a teenage dating website, met minor girls online and requested that they take and send sexually explicit pictures.

Officials said he was vicar of Saints Simon & Jude parish in Westtown Township since September 2013 and served in seven other suburban Philadelphia parishes.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.