Priest In Child Porn Case Pleads Guilty To Lesser Crime

A Catholic priest charged with possessing child pornography has been ordered to spend three months in a halfway house, pay a $5,000 fine, and do time on probation. He’s been allowed to plead guilty to a lesser crime. The Reverend John P. Hess, who once had a church in Florissant, has admited his computer had child pornography on it when the FBI seized it. But, his lawyer charged the search warrant used by the FBI to get the images was based on a false statement. That let Hess plead guilty to the lesser charge of possessing obscene material and get a shorter sentence.