Former West Chester Clergyman Pleads to Child Porn Charges

A former parochial vicar in the Philadelphia Archdiocese has pleaded guilty to charges he possessed and shared child pornography.

Mark Haynes, 56, pleaded guilty to federal charges of using the Internet to entice a minor to engage in sexual conduct, transfer of obscene material to a minor, distribution of child pornography, possession of child pornography, and destruction or concealment of evidence. He had last served at Saints Simon and Jude parish in West Chester, before his arrest last year. 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Philadelphia reports:

According to court documents, around 2010, Haynes posed as a 16-year old girl named “Katie” on a teen dating website.  As “Katie,” Haynes would meet minor girls online and allegedly request that they take and send sexually explicit pictures. Haynes is also charged with distributing other images and videos of children being sexually assaulted over the Internet in 2014, again posing as “Katie.”

Haynes was originally arrested and charged in fall 2014 by Chester County authorities before transferring the case to federal authority this spring

After his arrest last fall, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia removed Hayes from ministry. “The Archdiocese is cooperating fully with law enforcement regarding this matter and remains fervently committed to preventing child abuse as well as protecting the children and young people entrusted to its care,” the Archdiocese said in a statement at the time. “Child pornography is a scourge that must be eradicated.”

Haynes is scheduled to be sentenced September 10th in federal court.