Retired St. Louis priest admits possessing child pornography

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A retired St. Louis priest faces sentencing in January after admitting that he possessed thousands of images containing child pornography. James T. Beighlie pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to two counts of possession of child pornography. He is 72. Federal prosecutors say that in May 2021, colleagues of Beighlie found images on a church printer. He was working at the time for Congregation of the Mission in St. Louis. Church leaders launched an investigation that included a review of computers and a smartphone used by Beighlie. The U.S. attorney’s office in St. Louis says the FBI was contacted after the internal investigation found what appeared to be videos of minors engaging in sex acts.