Ex-Catholic Priest Lee Sentenced to 30 Years for Child Porn

WILMINGTON, Del. – A former U.S. Navy Lt. Commander and ordained Catholic priest, John Thomas Matthew Lee, 51, of Millsboro, Delaware, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for charges involving the sexual exploitation of children, announced U.S. Attorney Charles M. Oberly III of the District of Delaware.

Lee, who pleaded guilty on Nov. 16, 2015, to one count of production and one count of distribution of child pornography, has been a registered sex offender since his 2007 conviction for sexually assaulting another Naval officer while serving as a Chaplain at the U.S. Naval Academy. His sentence also includes a lifetime term of supervised release.

The investigation was sparked by CyberTipline reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, leading to the discovery of tens of thousands of child-pornography images on Lee’s electronic devices. Lee used online messenger applications and text messages to induce several juveniles to send him pornographic images, which he then shared publicly.

HSI Resident in Charge Wilmington, Delaware, investigated the case with assistance from various HSI regional offices, locating and interviewing juvenile victims. The Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Edmond Falgowski prosecuted the case.

This conviction is a part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006. For more information on Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.