Federal authorities have filed charges against Father James Jackson, who was arrested October
30th after Rhode Island investigators allegedly found hundreds of explicit images on an external
hard drive in his rectory office.
Father Jackson, who is 66, is a member of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter and he
was pastor at St. Mary's Parish in Providence and previously pastored a traditional Latin
Rite parish in Littleton, Colorado.
A forensic analyst with the Rhode Island State Police found hundreds of obscene image and
video files
during an on-scene forensic preview of an external hard drive located in an office area adjacent to
Father Jackson's bedroom, according to an affidavit filed in support of the federal charges.
The State Task Force investigation revealed that an internet subscriber
geolocated to St. Mary's Rectory shared material on a peer-to-peer network on
four occasions between September 4 and October 17, 2021, according to the affidavit. Father
Jackson has not made any public comment about the charges against him.
However, many of his former parishioners from his previous parish in Colorado have stated
their skepticism, as Father Jackson was known to them to have little understanding of basic
technology, nor did they see any type of red flags in his 15 years as pastor.
A parishioner from St. Mary said that he has spoken to many people who know Father Jackson
better than he does, and who insists that the popular priest is innocent of the charges.
He also said that he has a degree in computer science and understands how easily computers
can be hacked to plant incriminating evidence against someone.
On the other hand, he added that the information contained in the affidavit is deeply disturbing.
If he was framed, it's the most horrendous thing that you could do to a priest, really.
It's a complete character assassination to the point where even if his name is cleared, he will probably never fully recover, the parishioner said.
And if it's true, then it's one of the most horrendous things that he could do.
To get the full story, click the link in the description to CNA.