Priest arrested in Internet sex sting
School's spiritual advisor accused of
explicit conversations. A Roman Catholic
priest who is the spiritual adviser at
a Connecticut high school was arrested
after allegedly having explicit sexual
conversations online with an undercover
agent posing as a 14-year-old boy. THE
ARREST was the latest in an ongoing sex
sting in New York's Westchester County
that has resulted in 42 arrests and 35
convictions. District Attorney Jeanine
Pirro said Friday that Rev. John J.
Castaldo described to the undercover
agent the explicit sexual activity he
wanted to engage in. He was charged with
attempted dissemination of indecent
material to a minor, which is punishable
by up to four years in prison. Castaldo
was arrested and arraigned Thursday.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/578437.asp

Area priest charged in sex sting
The spiritual director of Trinity Catholic High School
in Stamford was arrested Thursday for allegedly engaging
in a sexually explicit online conversation with someone
he believed was a 14-year-old boy, the Westchester County,
N.Y., district attorney said yesterday. The Rev. John J.
Castaldo, 42, is the 42nd person arrested in the Internet
pedophile sting operation, which has resulted in 35
convictions since 1999. "At this point, nothing surprises
us," said District Attorney Jeanine Pirro, whose office
runs the sting operation. "It's very disconcerting that
an individual would be in this occupation and do this
kind of work, but not surprising at all." The Roman
Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport reacted swiftly to the
accusations yesterday, removing Castaldo from his duties
at the school and at St. Maurice Parish in the Glenbrook
section of Stamford, where he is a resident priest,
pending the outcome of the diocesan investigation.
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/stamford/2001-05-26/article5.shtml
Former pastor sentenced to prison
David L. Welsh, former pastor of Seventh Street Christian
Church, was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison
yesterday for possession of child pornography. He was
ordered to report to prison July 13. Welsh was arrested
in January and admitted to the FBI that he downloaded
more than 1,000 digital images of nude young men and
boys from the Internet. The images were found on the
computer he used at the church. When Welsh pleaded
guilty in March, Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Hood
said the only crime involved was downloading the images.
But yesterday in court he said that is not a victimless
crime, since children are being abused all the time to
create the images to feed the Internet market for child
pornography.
http://www.timesdispatch.com/vametro/MGBMRLW7ZNC.html

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/wdsu/20011113/lo/971102_1.html
Tuesday November 13 11:58 AM EST
Baptist Minister Accused Of Incest, Rape
An Uptown Baptist minister arrested Monday faces charges of aggravated rape and aggravated incest.

The Rev. Clarence W. Smith Jr., 62, is the pastor of the Ora-Vista Baptist Church on Toledano Street.
Smith's 19-year-old stepdaughter alleged that he raped her repeatedly when she was between 13 and 16 years old.
Smith turned himself into police Monday.