Pennsylvania priest is charged with child pornography
ALLENTOWN, Pa. – A Roman Catholic priest in Pennsylvania is facing child pornography charges.
Monsignor John Stephen Mraz, of Bethlehem, was charged Tuesday morning. He was arraigned and released on unsecured bail.
Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin says a friend of the 66-year-old priest’s discovered a file labeled with a reference to nude boys while working on Mraz’s computer. The friend then contacted the Diocese of Allentown, which notified the DA’s office.
Authorities seized Mraz’s computers and found he had downloaded child pornography.
A message left for his attorney wasn’t immediately returned.
Mraz was the pastor of the Church of St. Ann in Emmaus. He previously served as a Catholic school administrator.
The diocese says it has removed Mraz from ministry. Martin says Mraz now lives at a home for retired priests.
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