February 17, 2016
A former Chester County priest will go to prison for two decades for the distribution of child pornography, according to media reports.
Both Jeremy Roebuck of the Philadelphia Inquirer and FOX29 tweeted Wednesday that Mark Haynes was given a sentence of 20 years.
JUST IN: Feds sentence ex-priest Mark Haynes, 56, of West Chester to 20 years in prison for child sexual abuse. pic.twitter.com/y4vtJyQzBt
— FOX 29 (@FOX29philly) February 17, 2016
Suspended Chester Co priest Mark Haynes sentenced to 20 yrs in child pornography case in which he posed online as teenage girl. Stay tuned
— Jeremy Roebuck (@jeremyrroebuck) February 17, 2016
Details regarding the circumstances of his sentence were not immediately made available.
Haynes, 56, pleaded guilty to charges related to the distribution of child pornography in June.
Prosecutors said that Haynes, who last served as parochial vicar at Saints Simon and Jude Parish in West Chester before his 2014 arrest, posed as a 16-year-old girl to obtain sexually explicit photos from underage girls online.
He then allegedly distributed those images on the Internet. Ordained in 1985, Haynes has served at parishes in Chester, Bucks, Delaware and Montgomery counties.
