BOISE (ID)
Idaho Statesman
June 3, 2018
By Katy Moeller
The 72-year-old inmate’s body looks frail, but his mind and voice are sharp and clear.
His demeanor reads more stunned victim than shamed perpetrator.
His tone is burdened, not broken.
The Rev. W. Thomas “Tom” Faucher, best known as Father Faucher, is clad in a maroon jail jumpsuit and sitting in a wheelchair at the Ada County Jail. He uses a wall phone to communicate with a reporter on the other side of the glass partition.
“I get probably six or seven letters or cards every day almost from supporters,” he says of his life behind bars the previous 10 weeks. “And I have the newsletter. Now, did you get your copies of the newsletter? There’s now 15 editions of it.”
The retired Roman Catholic priest is in the fight of his life. Faucher talked exclusively to the Statesman several times, including during a May 7 jail visit, though on his attorney’s advice he declined to discuss the charges that landed him behind bars.
His legacy as a good shepherd for nearly a half century has been marred by allegations that he collected and traded images of children being sexually abused, and that he talked in chat rooms about wanting to rape and kill children. Investigators said they found the illicit drugs LSD, ecstasy/MDMA and marijuana during a Feb. 2 search of his church-owned home in Northwest Boise.
Prosecutors say he had more than 2,000 child porn images and videos on his computer and cellphone. Most of the 24 charges against him are felonies, carrying a maximum penalty of 275 years in prison.
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