The New York Times has reported on what is believed to be the first conviction of a Roman Catholic bishop for failing to notify authorities about a pedophile priest. The bishop had received reports from several reliable sources, including an elementary school teacher and the computer technician who had discovered a cache of pornographic pictures of children stored on the priest's hard drive.
When the priest admitted to having a "problem with pornography," the bishop ordered him to undergo a psychological evaluation, live in a convent, and stay away from children. The priest continued to interact with children and take pornographic photos of young girls for five more months, until other church officials contacted the police, without the bishop's approval.
At the end of a one-hour, truncated bench trial, the bishop was found guilty of one count of misdemeanor failure to report child abuse and sentenced to two years of court-supervised probation. The maximum penalty for this crime is imprisonment for one year, a $1,000 fine, or both.
