Spanish priest arrested for child porn possession, later freed on bail

[News_Editor]

Spanish priest arrested for child porn possession, later freed on bail

2010-11-13 01:13:07 GMT+7 (ICT)

MADRID, SPAIN (BNO NEWS) -- A Spanish Catholic priest was arrested and then released after Spain's Civil Guard discovered over 21,000 computer files containing child pornography in his parish, prosecutors said Friday.

The unnamed priest of the Parish of Our Lady of Assumption (Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción) was arrested after the Civil Guard's Telematics Crime Group reportedly found the files, which summed up to 600 gigabytes of child pornography.

The 52-year-old priest originally from Mallorca, who has led the parish for around 15 years, was let go under the judges orders, despite prosecutors trying to jail him without bail following the priest's legal statement.

The priest was charged with distribution of child pornography, which is punishable from four to eight years, but under the judges order, he was only sentenced to appear in court twice a month.

However, prosecutors will appeal the decision in search of more severe sentencing.

The Parish of Our Lady of Assumption is the only parish in the small town with 2,000 inhabitants.

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