Retired Missouri priest is sentenced for having child porn

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A retired Catholic priest in St. Louis who used thousands of images of child pornography to make PowerPoint presentations for several years was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison.

James T. Beighlie (72), pleaded guilty In October, he was charged with two counts of possessing child pornography. He was also ordered $4,750 for one of the victims and $22,000 for a fund that will help other victims of child pornography.

Colleen Lang, assistant U.S. Attorney, stated that Beighlie had thousands images and videos to use for PowerPoint presentations. These presentations were reworked several times. She said that he had been using child pornography at least since 2008. The prosecutor’s office has not indicated that Beighlie showed the presentations to anyone.

“All I can say is that I am ashamed and deeply remorseful,” Beighlie told the judge.

After co-workers from the Congregation of the Mission St. Louis discovered compromising images of Beighlie printed on a church printer, a church investigation was initiated in May 2021. After videos of minors performing sex acts were found by a private IT company, an attorney representing the church contacted FBI.

Beighlie, a Vincentian priest, was most recently an associate pastor in St. Vincent de Paul Parish in St. Louis.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Beighlie’s attorney argued for supervised release, saying his client had serious health issues and was already staying at the Vianney Renewal Center, a Roman Catholic facility in Missouri that treats sexually abusive priests, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

A spokesperson for Congregation of the Mission said that October was the last month in which there have been no other allegations of minor sexual abuse involving Beighlie.

According to the Congregation of the Mission, Beighlie was previously on the faculty of St. Thomas Aquinas/Mercy High school in St. Louis, Vincent Gray Academy East St. Louis, and associate pastor at Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in House Springs.