Gulfport Teacher Indicted on Sex Charges Could Face Life in Prison

By Robin Fitzgerald
Sun Herald
September 15, 2014

http://www.sunherald.com/2014/09/15/5801080_gulfport-teacher-indicted-on-sex.html?rh=1


Longtime Gulfport teacher Richard Pryor has pleaded not guilty on indicted charges that allege he molested boys on out-of-state trips while he taught at Bayou View Junior High from 1999 through 2005.

Pryor, 68, entered his plea Monday in U.S. District Court.

Pryor is set for trial on a court calendar that starts Oct. 6.

The indictment was filed Sept. 9. It was unsealed Monday.

A federal grand jury indicted Pryor on two counts each of transportation of a minor to engage in sexual activity and interstate travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor.

One charge is punishable by 10 years to life in prison. The other is punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

Pryor was teaching algebra and geometry at St. Patrick Catholic High School in Biloxi when the FBI arrested him Aug. 19 on suspicion of molesting male students during trips to various states while Pryor taught in the Gulfport School District. He retired from public schools seven years ago and began teaching for the Catholic Diocese of Biloxi.

One alleged victim came forward to the FBI, which led agents to a second victim, and Pryor admitted molesting those boys and six others, and the FBI has since found three other victims, an FBI agent recently testified.

The indictment identifies the boys, now adults, as Victim 2 and Victim 3.

Pryor is accused of molesting Victim 2 at least five times on a trip from Gulfport to Louisiana sometime from 1999 until 2001.

He is accused of molesting Victim 3 in a trip to California sometime between 2002 and 2005.

After his arrest, Pryor reportedly told the FBI he had hidden his laptop computer and agents would find child pornography on it. The computer is being examined by FBI agents in Jackson.

The FBI believes Pryor targeted boys ages 12 to 14 on non-school-related trips he organized during the summer months.

Personnel records from the Gulfport School District and the Catholic Diocese show no complaints against Pryor and no letters of reprimand, the FBI agent said.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests issued a statement Monday urging Biloxi Bishop Roger Morin to urge anyone who may have been victimized by Pryor to come forward and to "personally visit every school where Pryor worked" while teaching for the Diocese.

"If kids are to be safer and predators are to be convicted, it's crucial that Catholic employees aggressively seek out anyone with suspicions about or knowledge of Pryor's crimes," said David Clohessy, SNAP director.

"It's our civic and moral duty to help police and prosecutors keep predators away from kids."