Reuters
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| Bishop Robert Finn |
October 15, 2011
KANSAS CITY (Reuters) - Kansas City's Roman Catholic bishop has been charged with failing to promptly report pornography on a priest's computer, prosecutors said, becoming the highest-ranking U.S. church official charged in long-running clergy abuse scandals.
Prosecutors in Jackson County, Missouri, said on Friday thatBishop Robert Finn, 58, became aware of child pornography images on the laptop computer of Reverend Shawn Ratigan in December 2010 but failed to appropriately notify police or state child abuse authorities for five months.
Finn's lawyer entered a not guilty plea in court on Friday and the bishop issued a statement saying he would fight the misdemeanor charge -- which carries a penalty of up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine -- "with a steady resolve and a vigorous defense."
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