Vancouverite
October 1, 2009
http://www.vancouverite.com/2009/10/01/nova-scotia-bishop-lahey-accused-of-having-child-porn/
OTTAWA – (Update) A Nova Scotia Bishop accused of having child porn on his laptop has surrendered to Ottawa police.
Police had issued an arrest warrant for Bishop Raymond J. Lahey, 69, of Antigonish for possession of child porn and for importing child porn into Canada.
Police said Lahey turned himself in at 1:30 p.m. EST and brought his lawyer with him. He has been released on bail with strict conditions, police announced.
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| Nova Scotia Bishop Lahey. |
Lahey was charged after his laptop was checked while he was returning to Canada at Ottawa airport.
'On September 25, 2009 the Ottawa Police Service Internet Child Exploitation Unit (ICE) investigators charged Raymond J. Lahey, 69-year-old, from Antigonish, Nova Scotia, with Possession of Child Pornography and Importation of Child Pornography," said an Ottawa Police statement.
"Lahey was attempting to re-enter Canada at the Ottawa International Airport in Ottawa on September 15, 2009, when he was referred for a secondary examination," said the statement.
"During the examination, Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Officers found images on his laptop computer that were of concern," said the statement.
"The computer and other media devices were seized by CBSA. Lahey was released, pending further investigation," police said.
The forensic examination of the computer and media later revealed Child Pornography, police said.
"A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Mr. Raymond Lahey," police added.
Police are now asking anyone with knowledge about the child porn on the Bishop's computer to come forward, but police have not said why they have made this request or if they think that the images could be of local children.
In a pastoral letter in 2006, Lahey asked Catholics to write to their members of parliament to oppose same sex marriages.
"Today, we have so many problems with our social structures that the second chance to correct one of them by reaffirming the specific nature of marriage is a wonderful opportunity for us. We can express ourselves both as Canadians who are not uncaring for the range of persons who comprise our society, and as people who at the same time want to do the right thing," he wrote.
He was also the Bishop who helped settle a claim by victims of abuse at the hands of clergy. Later, he issued an apology to those who had been sexually violated as children.
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