Parents want answers after priest accused of taking inappropriate pictures

By Morgan Lentes
WLKY
August 25, 2015

http://www.wlky.com/news/parents-want-answers-after-priest-accused-of-taking-inappropriate-pictures/34896352

LOUISVILLE, Ky. —Parents said they were shocked to learn the details of what their former parish priest is accused of.

Stephen Pohl now faces a child pornography charge, and he resigned from St. Margaret Mary last week.

Pohl allegedly took several inappropriate pictures of students, some where their underwear was visible, according to an arrest warrant.

Parents now want to know of whom he took pictures.

“I just asked them so basic questions like has he taken their picture that they're aware of, have they been touched by him, anything like that,” said Mary Hall, a parent who has three children at the school.

Hall said since learning of allegations against Pohl, she has wondered if her children were involved.

“That's probably the hardest part right now is the waiting and the wondering,” said Hall.

An arrest warrant released Monday detailed how investigators said Pohl would take aside individual students. In one case, Pohl asked a boy to pose for a picture with his legs spread apart.

The boy told his parents he had a “weird” encounter with Pohl.

The warrant explained that his parents then confronted the pastor in a store, where they took his phone and found the images.

Investigators then discovered pornographic images involving children, who were not associated with St. Margaret Mary, on Pohl’s computer.

The details of the case that have many parents feeling uneasy.

“Well obviously we are all shocked. It's pretty upsetting,” said Hall.

Despite that, Hall believes the school will be able to move past all this, given time.

She said she still has faith in the staff charged with keeping her kids safe.

“The school is doing their best to protect our kids and I think moving forward, that the community is going to kind of rally around each other,” said Hall.

According to the arrest warrant, investigators claim to have found more than 150 pictures of children from the school.

Parents who are concerned their child might have been in the photos can contact Louisville Metro Police.

The Archdiocese of Louisville has a Victim Assistance Coordinator to help parents talk to their children about the situation.