Child-porn indictment against Churchill priest unsealed

A federal grand jury has indicted a Churchill priest already charged in state court with possession of child pornography.

The Rev. Bartley A. Sorensen, 62, of St. John Fisher Church, now faces federal charges of receiving and accessing pictures of minors engaged in sex acts.

The indictment did not detail the accusations but sought the forfeiture of a computer, a camera and more than 100 CDs, DVDs, books and photo albums.

According to affidavits in state court, Rev. Sorensen had thousands of images of young boys, including some of boys posing naked or involved in sex acts.

The investigation began when a church employee contacted the Catholic Child Abuse Hotline. Diocesan officials contacted police and placed Father Sorensen on administrative leave.

The federal indictment was handed down Tuesday, and the case was unsealed this morning.

First published on January 4, 2012 at 12:27 pm