Priest arrested in Bay Area for child porn

By Marcus A Grayson
WTSP
August 22, 2015

http://www.wtsp.com/story/news/2015/08/22/priest-arrested--bay-area/32207235/

A national manhunt ends here in the Bay Area. Stephen Pohl was a Catholic Priest from Louisville Kentucky but the FBI is also calling him a child pornographer.

Fifty-six-year-old Pohl was arrested by the FBI and the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office late yesterday. He's facing federal charges of being in possession of child pornography on his computer.

The sign on the door reads 'gone to the beach', but that is not true for Stephen Pohl. He is in the Pinellas County Jail facing federal charges of child pornography. Many neighbors saw the police activity yesterday, "I saw a few undercover cars that definitely [did] not fit in. It was something out of a movie" saying Lauren Fechtmann. Many in here say they are shocked this priest lived a double life.

"It makes me feel very uncomfortable to think we might have had a child pornographer living among us", saying Rudy Croce a Neighbor

According to Karen Tancredi, the sister of Pohl, they allowed their brother, Stephen Pohl to stay at their home for the summer while they are in Indiana.

Back in Kentucky, Arch. Bishop Joseph Kurtz said he was "...deep[ly] grieved at the news of an FBI Investigation." The FBI found that Pohl had child porn on his computer as well as up to 200 photos of St. Margaret Mary school children. All of the students were clothed, but investigators deemed some of the photos inappropriate.

"I'm feeling the grief that I can only imagine parents are feeling. There's anger, there is confusion, and there is hurt" said Kurtz.

The Parish staff was told on August 14. On Monday, counselors were on hand to help students and staff cope with the news. Back on Indian Rocks Beach, there was a sense of relief. "I'm so thankful that law enforcement was so excellent that they were able to get these folks" said neighbor Joey.

A spokeswoman for the archdiocese, said she wasn't aware of any previous disciplinary issues facing Pohl. She declined to release Pohl's personnel file Friday but said he'd previously held appointments in 5 different churches dating back to the mid-1980s. After the FBI confirmed the allegations Pohl was put on leave and later resigned.