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Long Beach priest charged with child porn

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Christopher King was escorted out of his court conference by police in Mineola on Feb. 7.
Christopher King was escorted out of his court conference by police in Mineola on Feb. 7.
Susan Grieco/Herald

An Episcopal priest in Long Beach was arrested last Friday on child pornography and drug charges — and promptly fired from the church he has headed since 2001.

Nassau County police arrested 51-year-old Christopher King, a West Penn Street resident and a parish priest at St. James Episcopal Church of Long Beach, at his church home at 6 p.m. on Feb. 3.

Detectives with the Narcotics Vice Bureau, Crimes Against Property Child Exploitation Unit and Nassau County District Attorney’s Office conducted an investigation at King’s parish residence that they said revealed child pornography images on his computer devices.

According to police, investigators discovered files containing pornography involving children under 16 years of age. During the investigation, detectives also found a quantity of methamphetamine, Xanax pills and numerous items of drug-related paraphernalia.

King was charged with five counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child and two counts of seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. He was arraigned at First District Court in Hempstead on Feb. 4 and pleaded not guilty. King’s bail was set at $100,000 bond or $50,000 cash, and he appeared in Nassau County Criminal Court on Tuesday for a conference. King’s attorney, Maureen McBride, did not immediately return a call for comment.

According to Newsday, investigators found five videos of boys between about 2 and 12 years old engaged in sex acts on a computer at King’s residence, and the news came as a shock to the 80 to 90 members of the church congregation, said Lawrence Provenzano, the Episcopal bishop of Long Island.

“It’s a very difficult and sad time for them,” Provenzano told the Herald. “He was a beloved pastor for a number of years — they’re in shock because this is so out of character about what they’ve known of their priest.”

King had been a priest in the diocese since 2001 — he had previously served in California’s El Camino Real diocese — and was the priest-in-charge at St. James, the church said.

“The diocese and the entire Episcopal church have a zero tolerance policy with respect to criminal conduct of any kind, including the allegations made against Father King,” Provenzano said in a statement last Saturday. “As a result of these allegations, I have today terminated Father King’s license to function as an Episcopal priest in the diocese of Long Island. We will also provide pastoral care and consult with the congregation and any others impacted by these charge.”

Provenzano said that he met with members of the church for several hours after King’s arrest, and said that they were still reeling from the incident. He also said that an interim priest would be appointed soon.

“They’re hurt and some people are angry,” Provenzano said. “I was able to assure them that the diocese takes this all very seriously and we don’t try to hide anything. We try to have as much transparency as possible, because that kind of honesty at least helps to build new trust.”

He added that there was no indication that King had harmed any children who belong to St. James.

“We’re very careful about that kind of stuff, and looking at his file, there is no indication of any kind of misconduct or wrongdoing,” Provenzano said. “If we were to discover that, our protocol is to immediately inform the authorities. When allegations are made, it pauses everything — the congregation needs to heal.”