Ottawa: Catholic Bishop Flees On Child Pornography Charges

Catholic Bishop Raymond Lahey has gone on the lam from Canadian authorities shortly after border guards found child pornography on his computer. Lehey resigned abruptly on Saturday and has not been seen since.

Sgt. Brigdit Leger of the Halifax RCMP said Ottawa police officers have spoken with Lahey, though they do not know where he is. A spokeswoman for Anthony Mancini, the archbishop of Halifax who is overseeing the Antigonish diocese until a replacement for Lahey is named, said Mancini spoke briefly with Lahey by phone after learning of the charges through the media, but he did not know Lahey's whereabouts. Lahey was re-entering Canada at the Ottawa International Airport on Sept. 15 when members of the Canada Border Services Agency pulled him aside for a secondary examination, according to a release from Ottawa police. Officers found images on Lahey's laptop computer "that were of concern." He was released at the time. The computer was seized and police said a subsequent forensic examination of the computer revealed child pornography. Lahey was charged on Sept. 25. No court date has been set.

Lahey was elevated to bishop by Pope John Paull II in 2003. Gee, I wonder why border guards would think to the examine the laptop of a Catholic bishop??