BOISE -- A trial for the retired Boise priest accused of downloading and sharing violent child pornography has been set for August.
Father W. Thomas Faucher, 72, pleaded not guilty Friday morning to each of his 24 criminal charges. Twenty-one of those counts are related to child pornography; three are drug charges.
Faucher, who served as pastor at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Boise until 2014, was arrested in February after investigators served a search warrant found thousands of illegal images and videos on his electronic devices.
Prosecutor Kassandra Slaven previously described the material as including files depicting "extremely brutal rape and torture of children," as well as adults and animals being injured and killed. The pornography includes children as young as babies and toddlers, she said.
Faucher - who could spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted - was ordered back to jail earlier this month after a judge raised his bail from $250,000 to $1 million.
Judge James Cawthon said then the allegations against Faucher were so alarming he could not be certain any pre-trial conditions could guarantee the community's safety while the priest remained free on bond.
Faucher appeared in court Friday wearing a maroon Ada County Jail uniform. His lawyer, Mark Manweiler, entered the not guilty pleas on his behalf.
Faucher will be back in court June 1 for a status conference.
