Pa. priest arrested on child pornography charges

    A Roman Catholic priest in Lehigh County is facing child pornography charges.

    Monsignor John Stephen Mraz of Bethlehem was charged Tuesday morning. He was arraigned and released on unsecured bail.

    County District Attorney Jim Martin said a friend of the 66-year-old priest 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 district attorney’s office.

    Authorities seized Mraz’s computers and found he had downloaded child pornography.

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    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 said it’s removed Mraz from ministry, and Martin said Mraz now lives at a home for retired priests.

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