Priest who said he urinated in communion wine, was attracted to satanism gets 25 years for child porn
The Rev. W. Thomas Faucher, a retired Idaho priest who once claimed to have urinated in communion wine at least once at his church, was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison without parole for what investigators said was the most disturbing child pornography case they had ever seen.
According to the Idaho Statesman, Faucher, 73, who pleaded guilty in September to five felony crimes stemming from amassing thousands of child porn images and videos on his home computer, will also have to register as a sex offender.
He apologized in the courtroom ahead of his sentencing at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise.
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“I am deeply sorry that I was and have been connected to that in any way,” Faucher said while acknowledging that he now knows child porn is not a victimless crime. “I was one really sick puppy. I screwed up big time ... I feel so much remorse and anger.”
Detective John Brumbaugh, who’s been on the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force for five years, testified Thursday that he received a cybertip about two images sent from wtfauch@aol.com that was linked to the St. Mary’s Catholic Church website.
Over several months, Brumbaugh said verified chats and emails showed Faucher was “actively seeking interests with gay men, satanic interests” as well as the rape and killing of minors.
The detective described the contents of the images police found on Faucher’s cellphone, computer and Dropbox account containing more than 2,500 files displaying child pornography described as violent, disturbing, torturous and included children crying.
“The volume of [images] was something I haven’t come across,” Brumbaugh said.
The disgraced priest also expressed a desire to have sex with boys, had “satanic desires,” an attraction to 6-year-old boys and expressed excitement at the “thought of killing someone” authorities said.
“The volume of [images] was something I haven’t come across,” Brumbaugh explained, noting that the case disturbed everyone who worked on it.
Brumbaugh said Faucher also had images of black slavery and discussed using racist language. Images of Faucher urinating on a cross and canon law book were also found.
Bishop Peter F. Christensen and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise said in a press statement that the shocking discovery of the evil Faucher harbored has forced them to start the process of defrocking him.
“The volumes of shocking information that the law enforcement investigation uncovered reveal the heinous nature of child pornography and the tragic impact upon its victims. While we cannot begin to fathom what brought Faucher to the point that he was able to enter into this evil and dark world, we are thankful for the efforts of the law enforcement community in doing what it can to protect our children from these crimes,” the diocese said. “Since his actions came to light in February, Faucher has been unable, and continues to be unable, to function as a priest in the Catholic Church.”
Christensen, said now that the criminal case is over, the church has started the process of turning the case over to authorities in Rome.
“We have already begun our preparations to turn this case over to Church authorities in Rome,” Christensen said. “Our response should send a clear message that we will not tolerate these sorts of behaviors from anyone who holds a leadership position in our diocese.”
