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Former Catholic bishop Raymond Lahey has been released from jail after being found guilty of possessing child pornography.
Lahey, 71, was sentenced to 15 months in jail by Ontario court Justice Kent Kirkland, but was granted a two-for-one credit for the eight months he had already spent in jail. Lahey pled guilty to possession of child pornography for the purpose of importation in May. He was also given two years probation and has been registered as a sex offender.
Lahey, who was a former bishop for Antigonish, Nova Scotia, had photos of naked boys wearing rosary beads and crucifixes in his pornography stash. Police found 588 pornography images and 63 videos, which only accounted for a small percentage of around 155,000 pictures of pornography on his computer. Lahey claims that he has an addiction to online pornography.
Dr. John Bradford, a psychiatrist who examined Lahey, had determined Lahey wasn’t a pedophile or at risk to sexually abuse children. He claimed that rather Lahey is just interested in gay sado-masochistic sex. Bradford said that this stems from Lahey’s 10-year relationship with another man, where he imagines himself in a submissive role during sex.
Many who attend the church Lahey once preached at are unhappy with the results. They feel that because of his former position, the judge has been too lenient on him. Others are just glad the trial has come to an end as the scandal was a burden to the community.
Along with Lahey’s two year probation, he many not go near any place children under 16 may be present at for the next 20 years, he may not hold any position of authority over children, and the police can search his computer at any time. Lahey also may not talk to children under 16 on the Internet and will be labeled a sex offender for the next two decades.
