Father James Jackson, a priest from Rhode Island who was detained in October on suspicion of publishing child pornography in violation of both federal and state law, acknowledged in federal court on Monday that the prosecution could show he had broken some of the terms of his pretrial release.
Live November 2021, Jackson’s pretrial release terms were established before he was permitted to leave Rhode Island and go in with a relative in Kansas. The United States Marshals apprehended him in Kansas in July. The United States Marshals are presently holding him in the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls, Rhode Island.
According to James Rosenberg, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Rhode Island, Jackson acknowledged that the government could demonstrate that he had broken the restriction barring him from “possessing any materials including videos, magazines, photographs, computer generated depictions or any other forms that depict sexually explicit conduct involving children” at his hearing on October 3 in U.S. District Court in Providence.
Jackson’s attorney John C. Calcagni III did not reply to a request for comment on Monday.
Rosenberg added that Jackson, who was dressed in a tan prison uniform, also acknowledged that the government may show that he broke the rule barring him from using more than one internet-connected gadget.
Jackson also acknowledged that the government may show that he disregarded the requirement that he “notify his supervising probation officer of any computers or electronic data storage devices where he was dwelling and to disclose any subsequent purchases,” he said.
He also acknowledged that the government had “probable cause” to believe that he had committed a new offense, namely possessing child pornography while out on bail, according to Rosenberg.
To be extremely clear, Rosenberg stated in an email to CNA, “He did NOT acknowledge that he committed the new offense, merely that the government might prove reasonable cause that he did.”
Jackson “conceded that he should be imprisoned awaiting further procedures,” according to Rosenberg.
The date of the subsequent hearing is unknown. Jackson is under investigation by a Kansas city police agency in addition to federal procedures.
Major James Sutterby of the Overland Park Police told CNA that the investigation against Jackson was still underway at the time of his arrest in July, but he would not go into more detail. Sutterby was unavailable for additional comment on Monday.
Jackson was charged in Rhode Island after the state police executed a search warrant at his parish on October 31 and detained Jackson after concluding that he was the owner of a significant amount of child sex abuse material discovered on an external hard drive in a workspace close to his bedroom, according to an affidavit.
Jackson was initially accused of violating both federal and state laws, but the state charges were withdrawn in January as a matter of procedure.
Distribution of child pornography is a federal offense that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a five-year obligatory minimum. His second federal allegation, which is possession and access with the intent to watch child pornography, carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. He will stand trial in November.