A Kansas City-area priest whose case
led to a criminal conviction against his
bishop will likely spend the rest of his
life in a federal prison after being
sentenced to 50 years on Thursday for
producing or trying to produce child
pornography.
The Rev. Shawn Ratigan pleaded guilty in
August of last year to five counts – one
for each of his five young victims. He was
charged in May 2011 after police received
a flash drive from his computer
containing hundreds of images of
children, most of them clothed, with the
focus on their crotch areas.
Ratigan, 47, apologized to his victims and
their families before learning his
punishment and asked the judge for the
statutory minimum sentence of 15 years
for each count, with the terms to all run
at the same time.
"Prison is hell," Ratigan said. "I know I
deserve 15 years, but 50 years? Come on,
I don't think so."
His public defender, Robert Kuchar,
argued that Ratigan's offenses weren't as
bad as those of other child
pornographers whose photos are more
graphic and often include images of the
victims participating in sexual acts.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Katharine Fincham
described Ratigan as a serial sex offender
who was arrogant and had a sense of
entitlement he thought would keep him
from getting caught. She said he deserved
the long sentence because he violated the
trust of his victims and their families by
using his position as a clergyman to get
close enough to them to take illicit photos
of the children.
A computer technician working on
Ratigan's laptop in December 2010 found
hundreds of troubling images of young
girls and reported it to officials with the
Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.
Instead of turning the photos over to
police or reporting suspicions about
Ratigan, Bishop Robert Finn sent him
away for psychiatric evaluation and later
ordered him to stay at a convent where
he could say Mass for the sisters and stay
away from children.
The photos were given to police in May
2011 after Ratigan violated Finn's orders.
Jackson County prosecutors charged Finn
and the diocese in October 2011 with one
misdemeanor charge each of failing to
report suspected child abuse, because of
the five-month delay between when the
photos were found on Ratigan's
computer and when the diocese reported
him to police.
Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said Finn
and the diocese were required under
state law to report the discovery to police
because the images gave them reason to
believe a child had been abused.
Finn was convicted of one count last
September and sentenced to two years of
supervised probation. The charge against
the diocese was dropped.
If Finn abides by a set of stipulations
from the judge, his conviction will be
wiped from his record next year.
On Thursday, parents of one of Ratigan's
victims said a 50-year sentence was
sufficient so that he will never be able to
harm the children again.
"We witnessed our outgoing, vibrant little
girl become depressed, withdrawn,
anxious," her mother said, sobbing at
times. "She's too scared now to trust
anyone of authority."
Complaints against Ratigan, who was
ordained in 2004 at the age of 38, began
piling up in 2009 as parents became
concerned he was spending too much
time with children and taking too many
photos of the youths while they played
and participated in church events.
A May 19, 2010, letter from St. Patrick
School Principal Julie Hess mentioned
how several people had complained that
Ratigan was taking compromising photos
of children and allowed them to sit on his
lap and reach into his pocket for candy.
Vicar General Robert Murphy, who
received the letter, spoke with Ratigan
about setting boundaries with children,
then gave a summary to the bishop. Finn
later acknowledged that Murphy had
briefed him on the memo, but he didn't
read it until a year later.
The diocese issued a statement on behalf
of Finn after Ratigan's sentencing,
apologizing for the priest's actions and
saying many steps have been taken to
protect children since his arrest.
"To victims of abuse, their families and
the community at large, I renew my
heartfelt apology and firm pledge to make
our Catholic institutions second to none
in the protection of children and the
vulnerable," Finn said in the statement.
Kuchar said he plans to appeal Ratigan's
sentence.
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