Shawn Ratigan, priest accused of producing child pornography, pleads guilty
Shawn Ratigan, a former priest at Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Eucharist in Independence, has pleaded guilty to five federal felony counts of making or attempting to make child pornography, The Star reports. He faces up to 30 years in prison for each count. Ratigan’s shocking story became public last year. He took his laptop to a repair shop and up-skirt photographs of children were discovered on the hard drive. A technician told church officials, who in turn told the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.
Officials within the diocese allegedly sat on the information from December 2010 to May 2011 before they told police. They copied the pornography to discs and gave the computer to Ratigan’s family members. They destroyed the computer, and diocese officials gave the images to detectives.
Bishop Robert W. Finn released a statement when the charges were announced in which he said he regretted the way the diocese had handled the situation. Court documents said, at the time, Ratigan attempted suicide on December 17, 2010, by running his motorcycle in his closed garage. Records also showed that he had left a suicide note apologizing to the girls he allegedly had pictures of.
