Who is William McCandless ( Former priest sentenced to 37 months ) Wiki, Bio, Age, Crime, Arrest, Incident details, Investigations and More Facts
William McCandless Biography William McCandless Wiki
A Roman Catholic priest accused of collecting thousands of child s*x abuse images while serving overseas and then taking them with him when he returned to the United States has been sentenced to more than three years in federal prison.
William McCandless, 57, of Wilmington, Delaware, was sentenced to 37 months in prison in federal court in Easton on Monday for using his cellphone to attempt to access p*rnography with underage boys. Assistant US Attorney Sherri Stephan said computer analysis showed the former DeSales University priest had visited 3,000 sites containing p*rnography. Prosecutors said he amassed his collection while serving several years in Munich and included items that could be described "as the torture of very young children". "He had no empathy for an only child in any of those photos," she said. "The reaction McCandless felt was to fight for more." McCandless served as a counselor at DeSales University Health Club in Upper Saucon Township from February to October 2017, but was fired after the school discovered the investigation. He was initially charged with possessing and attempting to access child s*xual exploitation material intended for importation into the United States and transporting it in interstate and foreign commerce. He pleaded guilty to attempted entry last year and the other charges were dropped. Reverend William McCandless, 58, pleaded guilty to 1 count of accessing child p*rnography and has been sentenced to 37 months in prison.https://t.co/drtSmk5DJQ pic.twitter.com/bTDHZvB5Jq — (@antifaoperative) January 23, 2023 U.S. District Judge Edward G. Smith told McCandless he served honorably in the Navy and had compassion for his various ministries as a Catholic priest. But, he said, the evil resided within him all the time, and "you couldn't contain that evil". Defense attorney Michael Diamondstein said his client recognized the seriousness of the crime but was not the "priest-necked devil" described by prosecutors. "Very few people are all good or all bad...and Father McCandless, if you take that weakness out of his life, he lived an amazing life. Better than me," he said. McCandless apologized to his family, friends, his Order and "everyone who trusted me". "Words cannot express the depth of my regret," she said. He also promised his order, the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales to reimburse the money spent on his legal defense. Upon his release, McCandless — who Diamondstein says will be barred from ministerial service — will live under the supervision of his order. He will also be banned from contact with anyone under the age of 18 and placed on a s*x offenders register. Read the full article
