Bishop Raymond Lahey freed from jail following sentencing
Written by Deborah Gyapong, Canadian Catholic News
Wednesday, 04 January 2012 19:46
Bishop Raymond Lahey, 71, received 15 months jail sentence Jan. 4 for importing child pornography but he was released after the judge gave him a two-for-one credit for the eight months he had already spent in prison.- Photo by Deborah GyapongOTTAWA - Bishop Raymond Lahey, 71, received 15 months jail sentence Jan. 4 for importing child pornography but he was released after the judge gave him a two-for-one credit for the eight months he had already spent in prison. The judge also imposed a period of 24 months’ probation with strict conditions.
After sentencing, a spectator in a blue plaid jacket began shouting obscenities at Lahey through the glass of the prisoner’s box and called him a demon. Police rushed into the courtroom, but did not charge the man who said he was a victim of sexual abuse at the St. Joseph Training School for Boys in Alfred, Ontario.
Following a meeting with his probation officer and submitting a DNA sample for the National Sexual Offender Registry, Lahey walked out of the Ottawa courthouse a free man, save for the probation conditions.
After sentencing, a spectator in a blue plaid jacket began shouting obscenities at Lahey through the glass of the prisoner’s box and called him a demon. Police rushed into the courtroom, but did not charge the man who said he was a victim of sexual abuse at the St. Joseph Training School for Boys in Alfred, Ontario.
Following a meeting with his probation officer and submitting a DNA sample for the National Sexual Offender Registry, Lahey walked out of the Ottawa courthouse a free man, save for the probation conditions.
The conditions include: reporting regularly to a probation officer; advising of any change of residence or travel outside Canada; cooperating in any advice to seek counseling and turning over any assessments to his probation officer; and staying away from swimming pools, school yards or places where children under 16 might be present.
Lahey will be allowed to use computers and electronic devices, but the judge said he would be prohibited from using them to communicate with children 16 or under; he must never use them to view pornography or erotica; and he must consent to search of his personal and work computers at any time by peace officers.
As one of his lawyers ushered him through the gauntlet of cameras and microphones into a beige sedan, the former Antigonish Bishop refused to speak to journalists. Looking tight-lipped and pale, Lahey climbed into the front passenger seat as cameras flashed and reporters shouted questions.
In a scrum earlier, Lahey’s defense counsel Michael Edelson said he knows where the bishop will be living now that he is free, but refused to say where. When asked about whether Lahey will continue the ten-year homosexual relationship revealed to the court Dec. 19, Edelson said, “No comment.”
Lahey will be allowed to use computers and electronic devices, but the judge said he would be prohibited from using them to communicate with children 16 or under; he must never use them to view pornography or erotica; and he must consent to search of his personal and work computers at any time by peace officers.
As one of his lawyers ushered him through the gauntlet of cameras and microphones into a beige sedan, the former Antigonish Bishop refused to speak to journalists. Looking tight-lipped and pale, Lahey climbed into the front passenger seat as cameras flashed and reporters shouted questions.
In a scrum earlier, Lahey’s defense counsel Michael Edelson said he knows where the bishop will be living now that he is free, but refused to say where. When asked about whether Lahey will continue the ten-year homosexual relationship revealed to the court Dec. 19, Edelson said, “No comment.”
No comments:
Post a Comment