MINNESOTA
Grand Forks Herald
By John Myers
The St. Louis County Attorney’s Office still is deciding whether to move forward with a charge of possessing child pornography against Brian Lederer, the Catholic priest who on Monday was found not guilty on separate charges of inappropriately touching four girls.
A jury of six men and six women took less than two hours to find Lederer not guilty of charges that stemmed from allegations by four girls, ages 11-13 at the time, that Lederer had touched them inappropriately.
Lederer, 30, who had been a priest at Blessed Sacrament Parish and Assumption Catholic School in Hibbing, was charged in May 2015 with four counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct and two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct.
With those charges now behind him, Lederer still faces a felony charge of possessing child pornography that allegedly was found on his computer when investigators used a search warrant looking for evidence in the other cases.
Sixth Judicial District Judge David Ackerson in December ruled the pornography charge should not be tried as part of the abuse allegations
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