Father James Jackson, a former leading member of the Fraternity of St Peter (FSSP), was sentenced to six years in prison on 13 December for consuming child pornography (StellaMaris.media).
Judge William Smith, a lapsed Catholic, departed from the prosecution's recommendation of five years, noting that Jackson was in a position of responsibility and had a special authority as a priest.
Smith also remarked that the defendant had re-offended while on pre-trial release in 2022, when he stayed with a relative in Kansas.
“You had free will in making that decision about whether to re-engage with this material. I don't think it's fair to blame it all on the [mental] condition. You are certainly smart enough, especially in that circumstance, to have tried to address it in other ways.”
Jackson used the word "I" a lot when he was given the opportunity to address the court. He said that it would cause him pain, "so much pain, daily, for the rest of my life" to be removed from the priesthood. He promised to do penance.
Jackson is unlikely to spend more than three years behind bars, but he could be laicised following his conviction.
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