Prosecutors File More Charges Against Retired Boise Priest

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A retired Boise priest was in possession of more than 2,000 images and videos of child pornography with some depicting the rape and torture of children, prosecutors said. Ada County prosecutors filed additional charges Tuesday against the Rev. W. Thomas Faucher, who is now charged with 18 counts of possession and two counts of distribution of child pornography as well as three counts of drug possession. The 72-year-old retired priest was taken to jail after the judge on Tuesday raised his bond to $1 million. He was out on a $250,000 bail following his arrest last month. Deputy Prosecutor Kassandra Slaven requested the higher bond, citing the alarming nature of the images and the online conversations that investigators found. Some of the images involved infants, authorities said.
"There are countless, countless, countless graphic chat conversations on his computer where he is very specific about how his sexual interests are evolving," Slaven told the court. "He discusses in great detail the desires he has to sexually abuse and even kill children." Defense attorney Mark Manweiler argued against increasing the bond, saying it would be unjustified. Manweiler said Faucher does not have a prior criminal history and has complied with court orders, including GPS monitoring and no contact with children.Manweiler argued that the additional charges were quantitative and do not allege any new misconduct.
"He's 72 years old; conviction of even a small number of these charges could likely result in a functional life sentence," Manweiler told the court. "Whether he is charged with 500 counts or he's charged with five, it makes no qualitative difference to his motivation or ability to appear at all his court appearances."
Two people have come forward claiming that Faucher sexually abused them as children, Slaven said. The prosecutor's office is reviewing the cases. Faucher retired from his ministerial roles for St. Mary's Catholic Church in Boise three years ago.