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Connecticut priest charged with possession of child porn

By Nina Melendez, CNN
updated 11:23 AM EDT, Wed July 4, 2012

(CNN) -- A Catholic priest in Waterford, Connecticut, has been charged with possession of child pornography, according to a statement Tuesday from Waterford police.

Dennis Carey, 66, who resigned recently as the pastor at St. Paul Parish Rectory in Waterford, was originally held on $100,000 bond after appearing Tuesday in New London Superior Court, the statement said. The court appearance was a bond hearing and no plea was entered, according to CNN affiliate WFSB.

CNN affiliate WTNH [ http://www.wtnh.com/ ] reported that Carey was later released on bond.

"It's an addiction that he's going through and he needs help for it," Carey's attorney, Ron Stevens, told WTNH. "And as he mentioned in court, he said to (the judge) 'I need help and I want help.' "

"There's no allegations here of any inappropriate touching of children or anything of that nature," Stevens said.

"He feels very, very, very bad about it. He has an appointment this afternoon with a psychiatrist," the attorney said. "He's going to look for forgiveness."

Waterford police said they arrested Carey on Monday.

According to the police statement, the investigation began in May after America Online (AOL) submitted a report to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children "concerning suspected child pornography that had been sent using an AOL email account."

The probe started in Los Angeles, but then led "to a possible suspect residing in the state of Connecticut," where authorities seized evidence at the St. Paul Parish Rectory.

"These allegations are extremely serious and run contrary to everything we believe as a church," said Catholic Bishop Michael R. Cote of the Diocese of Norwich, Connecticut. "To exploit children in that fashion is absolutely reprehensible."

CNN's Julia Greenberg contributed to this report.

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Related

Landmark sex abuse case: Catholic cleric remains in Pennsylvania jail
http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/26/justice/pennsylvania-priest-abuse/index.html

Watch: Alleged abuse victim attacks priest
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2012/06/26/exp-eb-priest-attacked-by-abuse-victim.cnn

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http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/03/justice/connecticut-priest-child-porn/index.html [with comments]