KCStar | The principal of a Catholic school warned a top official of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph more than a year ago that parents and teachers found the Rev. Shawn Ratigan’s behavior toward children troubling, including the hundreds of pictures the priest took.The warning came more than six months before the diocese was alerted to questionable images of children on Ratigan’s computer.
Ratigan, 45, of Kansas City, North, was charged last week with possessing pornographic photos of children taken around churches and schools where he had worked in the diocese. Ratigan pleaded not guilty Monday in Clay County Circuit Court.
Ratigan’s attorney, John P. O’Connor, declined to comment about the letter.
Diocese officials learned in December about images on Ratigan’s computer, but they did not file a formal report with police until this month.
But a year ago, Julie Hess, principal of St. Patrick School in Kansas City, North, detailed her concerns in a May 19, 2010, letter to diocese Vicar General Robert Murphy.
“I seek to fulfill my responsibility as school principal in relaying a growing body of parent and teacher concerns regarding Pastor Shawn Ratigan’s perceived inappropriate behavior with children,” Hess wrote.
She could not be reached for comment Thursday. The Kansas City Star independently confirmed the letter’s authenticity.
