LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A former Catholic priest accused of snapping hundreds of inappropriate pictures of students at his parish school is heading to federal prison for nearly three years.
Stephen Pohl wasn’t charged with any crime for taking the photos, since the children in his pictures were clothed. But he was found guilty of a charge of looking at child pornography on his computer. The 57-year-old former pastor of St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Louisville to 33 months.
A parent of a student who was photographed by Pohl said her now 9-year-old son knew something was wrong with the priest taking photographs of him. The boy, who has since left the school, has been in counseling.
‘‘We’re completely devastated, heartbroken,’’ said Christeena Gallahue, who sued the Archdiocese of Louisville on Tuesday.
Police seized Pohl’s computer during an investigation that started after a 10-year-old student told his parents he felt ‘‘weird’’ about some photos that Pohl had taken.
Police searched Pohl’s living quarters at the church on Aug. 12 and found about 200 photos of children from the school, though none was considered pornographic, according to a letter to parents from the archdiocese.