BishopAccountability.org
	Priest Faces 10 Years on Child Pornography Charges Associated Press September 18, 1985 A tip from a film processing lab has led to the arrest of a 56-year-old Roman Catholic priest on charges of mailing child pornography, authorities say. Postal officials said an investigation began in August after Clark Color Laboratories in Washington, D.C., reported receiving a film disc for processing that contained 15 photos of a boy under 14 years of age in nude and sexually explicit poses. The Rev. John J. Fallon was arrested Monday at his home in Plattsburgh, said Postal Inspector A. Jakubowitz of Albany. Fallon has been pastor for 10 years of the Holy Angels Roman Catholic Church in Altona, about 15 miles northwest of Plattsburgh. Postal Inspector Daniel Mihalko, a child pornography specialist in New York City, said the photo lab said Fallon's name was on the film package's return address. He said Postal Service handwriting analyst John Schatz determined that the handwriting on the mailing label matched Fallon's. Postal inspectors said Fallon consented to a search of his residence and additional photographs of young boys in sexually explicit poses were discovered and seized. Officials said the investigation is continuing to determine the identity of the boys in the photos. Fallon was arraigned Monday before U.S. Magistrate Henry Van Acker Jr. in Rouses Point on a charge of mailing child pornography. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bernard J. Malone Jr. said the charge carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. Van Acker set a preliminary hearing for Sept. 25 and released Fallon in the custody of Bishop Stanislaus J. Brzana of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ogdensburg. "Father Fallon ... has given good service here for many years," Brzana said in a statement Tuesday. "I want justice to be done for all concerned, and I ask that all concerned be treated with compassion and respect."
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.