James H. Swanson, a pastor in Rome, New York, was sentenced to three years in federal prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release, for possessing child pornography, a federal crime.
Following his prison sentence, he must register as a sex offender. The man had served as a pastor for decades, and most recently served as the pastor of the Rome Wesleyan Church.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the 59-year-old man admitted to uploading several videos of child pornography to a cloud storage account that he controlled between March 25, 2022, and March 28, 2022.
The pastor also admitted to having "engaged in this type of conduct for years," but said he periodically purged his "collection of child pornography before eventually accessing, viewing, and downloading more," according to a statement from the DOJ.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the New York State Police, and the Oneida County Sheriff's Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrian S. LaRochelle as part of the DOJ's Project Safe Childhood. "Rome Pastor Sentenced to 3 Years in Federal Prison for Possessing Child Pornography" www.wktv.com (Sep. 20, 2024).
Commentary and Checklist
A quick search engine inquiry for "church leaders and child pornography" on November 14, 2024, yielded the following sample results (and six other reports) just on the first page:
- "Texas Megachurch youth leader arrested for child pornography"
- (Oct. 30, 2024)
- "Tip leads to arrest of pastor charged with 100 counts of child porn"
- (Oct. 20, 2024)(the accused had fostered 76 children).
- "Muskegon County church leader pleads guilty to possession of child sexually abusive material"
- (October 23, 2024).
These search results illustrate the importance of vigilance in religious organizations, as well as enforcement of strong behavior and ethics policies prohibiting all leaders and staff members from engaging in any form of child sexual exploitation such as viewing, possessing, sharing, creating, or distributing child pornography.
On its Project Safe Childhood page, the U.S. Department of Justice recognizes that technology has complicated prevention and protection efforts. https://www.justice.gov/psc/project-safe-childhood-fact-sheet#future
Technological advances have encouraged child sexual exploitation offenders, especially those operating online, to an unprecedented degree. For every new technology that fills a need for law-abiding citizens, online child sexual exploitation offenders will find a malicious use."
"Among the most daunting and prevalent is offender utilization of anonymization networks, including Tor and Freenet, to obscure their identities. Because of the perceived anonymity, the most prolific and sophisticated offenders feel empowered to share enormous quantities of the most vile child exploitation images on a multitude of Internet bulletin boards."
"Even after child pornography producers are identified and convicted, their recordings still circulate online and elsewhere for the continued consumption by other like-minded offenders; therefore, the danger of the production, distribution and possession of child pornography remains multifaceted and disturbing for victims all over the world."
If you discover child pornography, report it. According to the U.S. Department of Justice:
- To report an incident involving the possession, distribution, receipt, or production of child pornography, file a report on the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)'s website at www.cybertipline.com, or call 1-800-843-5678. Your report will be forwarded to a law enforcement agency for investigation and action.
- If you have an emergency that requires an immediate law enforcement response, please call 911 or contact your local Police Department or Sheriff's Department.
- https://www.justice.gov/criminal/criminal-ceos/report-violations#reportcp
