NEW BEDFORD (MA)
Herald News
Daniel Fowler, Herald News Staff Reporter12/18/2004
NEW BEDFORD -- Father Stephen A. Fernandes was indicted by a grand jury this week on two counts of possession of child pornography and one count of disseminating obscene material to minors, said Joseph DeMedeiros, a spokesman for the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office.
DeMedeiros said the embattled pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Parish will be arraigned in Superior Court at a later date.
Fernandes, a former pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul Parish in Fall River, was originally arraigned in District Court in early November when he pleaded not guilty to a single count of possession of child pornography.
Bringing a case before the grand jury is standard procedure for cases involving serious charges because one can receive a maximum sentence of only 2.5 years in District Court.