The Indictment of Bishop Robert Finn
In December 2010, a techie in Kansas City was fixing the work computer of Father Shawn Ratigan when he allegedly found pornographic photos of young girls in the machine's memory. The technician told the Roman Catholic bishop, Robert Finn, who did not inform the police of the incident. Finn apologized for that in May 2011, soon after Ratigan was arrested on child-pornography charges. After he was told of the computer's contents, Finn had dispatched Ratigan to a different parish in the same diocese, but the priest reportedly continued to use hidden cameras to take up-the-skirt photos of local girls, some as young as 6 years old. In October 2011, Ratigan was indicted on child-pornography charges; Finn and his Kansas City diocese were indicted on misdemeanor charges for not telling the police of a likely case of abuse of minors. Finn and the diocese have pleaded not guilty.