Missouri: Priest to Plead Guilty in Child Pornography Case

By Laurie Goodstein
New York Times
August 2, 2012

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/02/us/missouri-priest-to-plead-guilty-in-child-pornography-case.html?_r=1

The Rev. Shawn Ratigan, a priest in Kansas City who is accused of producing pornographic photographs of young girls he knew, has filed notice that he will plead guilty in federal court on Thursday. He had previously pleaded not guilty and was to be tried this month. Diocesan employees discovered hundreds of images of girls’ genitals on a laptop computer the priest had taken in for repair in December 2010. Father Ratigan then survived a suicide attempt, and was reassigned to live in a church facility where he continued to have contact with children. The case led to the indictment of his superior, Bishop Robert Finn, and the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, on a misdemeanor charge of failing to report suspected child abuse. They are scheduled for trial in September.