Judge Finds Bishop Finn Guilty on 1 Count of Failing to Report Abuse

By Andy House, Alex Hassel
St. Joe Channel
September 6, 2012

http://stjoechannel.com/fulltext?nxd_id=296062

A verdict comes against the highest ranking Catholic official ever to face criminal charges in a child sex abuse case.

A judge found Bishop Robert Finn guilty in a sex abuse case involving a former St. Joseph priest.

Bishop Finn was convicted of one misdemeanor charge for failing to report suspected child abuse. He was found not guilty on a second charge.



A verdict came during a one day trial Thursday in Kansas City.

Finn was accused of failing to report hundreds of pornographic photos of children found on the computer of Shawn Ratigan.

Prosecutors say Finn knew about the photos on the former St. Joseph priest's computer for months before going to police.

Ratigan pleaded guilty in August to producing and attempting to produce child pornography.

Finn received a suspended sentence of two years court-supervised probation. He is now required to undergo training to learn how to report suspected abuse.