Bail denied for Catholic priest charged with child porn, by Jeremy Roebuck, Philadelphia Inquirer (March 4, 2015)

A lawyer for a suspended Chester County priest "emphatically denied" accusations that his client abused three young parishioners as a federal judge ordered the man detained Wednesday on separate child pornography charges.

The mounting allegations against Mark Haynes prompted U.S. District Judge Lawrence F. Stengel to reverse a lower court's decision releasing the priest. Stengel said the allegations, if true, establish a "consistent pattern of predatory conduct toward minor children."

Haynes, 55, previously of SS. Simon and Jude Parish in Westtown, stands charged with trading hundreds of pornographic images of children over Instagram and enticing 25 teenage girls he met online to send him explicit photos of themselves.

According to court filings, he used the alias "Katie Caponetti" while communicating with the teens online.

But federal prosecutors on Tuesday revealed a host of other allegations that have surfaced since Haynes' arrest in October, including reports from three accusers who say the priest molested them in the 1990s.

One woman, whose tale was recounted in court filings, said Haynes assaulted her as a teenager during confession at St. Ann's Parish in Phoenixville. When she told the priest she had performed oral sex on her teenage boyfriend, "Mr. Haynes said she would be absolved of those sins by performing oral sex on him," Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Rotella said Wednesday.

Rotella added that additional evidence has surfaced since Haynes' arrest suggesting he attempted to hide a personal laptop from investigators as well as plans to get together with a girl he had met online to meet at Walt Disney World for sex.

Haynes' lawyer, Alan J. Tauber dismissed the latest allegations as exaggeration Wednesday.

Haynes, he said, has been "remarkably cooperative" with authorities, even handing over another laptop, a tablet, and two iPods - one engraved with his online moniker "Katie" - despite knowing investigators would find incriminating photos on them.

As for the abuse allegations, Tauber said, Haynes can only say he has never molested anyone. Without knowing the specifics about the three new accusers, "it's virtually impossible to respond," Tauber told the judge.

Because Haynes' new accusers only came forward after his child pornography arrest, investigators have not decided whether they can bring charges. The alleged sexual abuse occurred in the '90s and appears to fall outside the statute of limitations.

Archdiocesan officials have suspended Haynes, who has worked in eight suburban parishes since his ordination in 1985. They have said they have not received any complaints of sexual abuse involving Haynes prior to his arrest, but are cooperating with the investigation.