Former Chesco Priest Pleads Guilty to Child Exploitation Charges

By KARA SEYMOUR

A former Chester County Catholic priest has pleaded guilty to child exploitation charges, including distribution and possession of child pornography and using the Internet to entice a minor to engage in sexual conduct, the FBI announced Monday.

Mark Haynes, 56, who previously served at St. Ann, could face a lifetime jail sentence, according to information from the FBI. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for September 10. The minimum jail sentence for his crimes is 10 years, the FBI said.

According to court documents, starting in 2010 Haynes posed as a 16-year old girl named “Katie” on a teen dating website. As “Katie,” Haynes would meet minor girls online and request that they take and send sexually explicit pictures, the FBI said.

Haynes is also charged with distributing other images and videos of children being sexually assaulted over the Internet .

Since his ordination in 1985, Haynes has served at multiple parishes in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties, including:

• Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Doylestown
• Saints Simon and Jude Parish, West Chester
• Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Doylestown
• St. John of the Cross, Roslyn
• Our Lady of Good Counsel, Southampton
• St. Pius X, Broomall
• Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Morton
• Annunciation B.V.M., Havertown

He has also worked as a chaplain at Archbishop Wood High School in Warminster.