A German priest investigated for possession of child pornography

COLOGNE, Feb. 18 (dpa/EP) –

A Catholic priest from the city of Recklinghausen, in western Germany, is being investigated for possession of child pornography, the Prosecutor’s Office reported this Friday.

The suspicions against the priest were confirmed after the initial inspection of the seized data storage devices, the spokesman for Germany’s cybercrime unit, based at the Cologne public prosecutor’s office, has reported.

However, the evaluation of all the material has not yet been completed and will take some time: “This is an unusually large amount of data,” the spokesman said.

Investigators searched the priest’s apartment last November and seized computers, hard drives and mobile phones. Since then, the priest has been suspended from his functions.

“We are waiting to see what the investigations finally reveal,” said the head of intervention for the diocese of Munster, Peter Frings. Based on this, a decision will be made on how to proceed.