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Priest will go to trial over child pornography charges
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The Rev. Bartley A. Sorensen, the priest charged with viewing child porn, leaves District Judge Thomas Caulfield's office in Forest Hills Tuesday morning after waiving his hearing.
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A Churchill priest facing possession of child pornography charges will head to trial after waiving his preliminary hearing Tuesday morning.
The Rev. Bartley A. Sorensen, 62, faces four counts of felony possession.
He had been arrested twice in the past week after detectives discovered thousands of images on his computer and on CDs. They were tipped off when a woman called a child abuse hotline to report he was viewing the graphic images on his computer in the rectory of St. John Fisher Church in Churchill, where he was the pastor.
Father Sorensen has since been placed on administrative leave. His bail was reduced to $100,000 non-monetary on Friday and he was released from the Allegheny County Jail on Monday, said his attorney Patrick Thomassey. He remains on electronic monitoring.
He faces a formal arraignment Feb. 17.
First Published December 20, 2011 12:00 am
