Kansas Priest Pleads Guilty

A Kansas priest pleaded guilty in federal court to possessing child pornography.

U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said 46-year-old Christopher Rossman pleaded guilty Friday.

He was pastor at Annunciation Catholic Church in Baldwin City and St. Francis of Assisi Church in Lapeer until he was suspended.

McAllister said monitoring software installed on Rossman’s electronic devices reported he visited adult and child pornography websites.

The archdiocese contacted law enforcement in September 2016 and suspended Rossman from the ministry.

He was charged last week.

When investigators sought Rossman in Baldwin City, they learned his sister had tried to run over her brother’s Galaxy tablet.

The archdiocese said in a statement Friday that the process of removing a man from the priesthood, called laicization, will begin against Rossman.