ST. LOUIS (MO)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
October 12, 2022
By Katie Kull
A former Catholic priest admitted Wednesday to possessing thousands of images and dozens of videos of child pornography and spending years compiling two PowerPoints of the images.
Father James Beighlie, 72, was a Vincentian priest who most recently served as an associate pastor at St. Vincent de Paul Parish in St. Louis. Previously, he served on the faculty at St. Thomas Aquinas/Mercy High School in St. Louis, at Vincent Gray Academy in East St. Louis and later as associate pastor at Our Lady Queen of Peace parish in House Springs, according to the Congregation of the Mission.
Beighlie was investigated beginning in May 2021 when office staff at the Congregation of the Mission in St. Louis found nude images of him on an office printer. The church seized his electronics and found at least a dozen videos appearing to depict minors engaged in sex acts, according to a plea agreement. Beighlie was removed from ministry and monitored by the Congregation of the Mission Western Province, a spokesman said Wednesday.
The FBI then reviewed 10 devices and found more than 6,200 images of child pornography. Officials also found two PowerPoint presentations, one of which contained nearly 3,000 slides of minors and another that contained roughly 2,800 slides. They were both created in 2009 and had been revised dozens of times, the plea agreement states.
The FBI also found that Beighlie had accessed several thumb drives from hard drives and computers that hadn’t been turned over to authorities. He later turned over 18 thumb drives, some of which contained images of child pornography.
On Wednesday, Beighlie pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of child pornography.
Federal sentencing guidelines recommend he receive 6 1/2 to 8 years in prison, but Beighlie’s attorney and prosecutors can argue for a different sentence. He is set to be sentenced on Jan. 10.
A Congregation of the Mission spokesman said there are no other known allegations of sexual abuse of a minor involving Beighlie.
“We are deeply saddened and disappointed,” said the Rev. Patrick McDevitt, provincial superior for the Congregation of the Mission’s western province. “The behavior for which Fr. Beighlie is accused runs contrary to the Vincentian charism, our mission and everything we stand for. Exploitation of children through pornography is a grave sin and has no place in society.”
Beighlie and his attorney declined comment Wednesday.