Former Boise priest Faucher loses his appeal, court upholds his prison sentence
The Idaho Court of Appeals on Monday affirmed the sentenced of a former Boise priest who was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2018.
William “Tom” Faucher, 74, appealed the sentence that 4th District Court Judge Jason Scott handed down. The sentence came after Faucher pleaded guilty to two counts of distribution of sexually exploitative material, two counts of possession of sexually exploitative materials and one count of drug possession.
Scott did not give Faucher the possibility of parole. In an opinion from the Idaho Court of Appeals, the judges disagreed with Faucher’s argument that the sentence was excessive.
Faucher had collected thousands of images of children being sexually abused, distributing some of the images online. They included children as young as infants being sexually assaulted, according to prosecutors. Faucher also had online conversations about wanting to rape and murder children.
Faucher argued that the court failed to look at many circumstances, including his age, physical and mental infirmities, his community support, his alcohol abuse and his lack of criminal history.
The Court of Appeals disagreed, saying the District Court did deliberate those factors “at length.”
“First, Faucher’s argument ignores the shocking nature of his crimes involving images of extremely cruel and sadistic victimization of young children, including infants,” the Court of Appeals wrote in the opinion.
The court went on to write that Faucher failed to meet the standard to prove his sentence was grossly disproportionate to his crime.
In a statement, Ada County Prosecuting Attorney Jan M. Bennetts said her office “is pleased that the Idaho Supreme Court of Appeals upheld the Honorable Judge Scott’s sentence in this case, ensuring the protection of the community.”
In October, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise, where Faucher served as a priest for decades, announced that it had laicized Faucher and stripped him of his religious title.
Faucher remains in custody at the Idaho State Correctional Center in Kuna.
This story was originally published April 21, 2020 at 3:51 PM.
