A former Catholic priest has been found guilty in federal court of possession of child pornography. 60-year-old James Beine – also known as Mar James – was convicted after a two-hour jury deliberation. According to the testimony, Beine – who had been jailed on a warrant – had given a letter to a fellow inmate, asking him to mail it once the inmate was released. The inmate gave the letter to his attorney, who passed it along to authorities. The letter instructed an acquanntance to destroy all CD disks that Beine had left with him in an envelope. The disks were later turned over to the St. Louis Police Department, examined, and found to contain thousands of images of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Beine now faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and/or a fine of $250,000. Sentencing has been set for June 6th.
