Ex-Boise priest Faucher, guilty in ‘sadistic’ child exploitation case, dies in Idaho prison
A former longtime Boise Catholic priest convicted of violent sexual exploitation of children has died in an Idaho prison at the age of 75.
William “Tom” Faucher was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2018 after pleading guilty to five felonies. Faucher was found dead Thursday morning in the medical unit of the Idaho State Correctional Institution after serving only two years of his sentence.
Jeff Ray, spokesman for the Idaho Department of Correction, said attempts to resuscitate Faucher were unsuccessful and “he appears to have died of natural causes.”
When he was arrested, Faucher had more than 2,500 computer files that were sexually exploitative or pornographic, with young-looking subjects, according to investigators. The files were described by police as violent, disturbing and torturous, some involving children crying. Faucher also had online conversations about wanting to rape and murder children.
His arrest shocked parishioners of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise, as well as local leaders.
In 2019, the Vatican cut all ties with Faucher at the request of the local diocese. That meant Faucher was no longer able to call himself a priest or exercise any of the duties of a clergy member.
Prosecutors previously said the content Faucher possessed was some of the worst material ever seen by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and noted that it included “many, many infant children.” Some of the images and videos also included torture of adults, as well as the torture and killing of animals.
Faucher was not eligible for parole. He would not have been eligible for release until he served his full 25-year sentence.
In April, Faucher’s last appeal was denied — he tried to argue that his sentence was excessive — and the Idaho Court of Appeals issued an opinion on the subject.
“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.
This story was originally published October 30, 2020 at 1:44 PM.
