New York: A 47-year-old Indian priest has been arrested in the US state of Florida on charges of possessing child pornography, with authorities saying he asked a 14-year old boy to help him delete about 40 pornographic images of young boys from his phone. Jose Palimattom, a visiting priest from India, was arrested on Monday on charges of possession of pornography and distributing it to a minor. He is being held at the Palm Beach County Jail in lieu of USD 10,000 bail. Palimottom is a priest of the Franciscan Province of St Thomas the Apostle in India and began serving a two-year residency in December 2014 at Holy Name of Jesus Parish in West Palm Beach, a parish of the Diocese of Palm Beach.

The priest has allegedly told authorities that he had been reprimanded at his church in India for being "involved with a minor male," but the incident was not reported to police. The head pastor at Holy Name Catholic Church told deputies that when Palimattom joined, he was told to have no contact with minors without another adult present. The diocese said in a statement that it is "greatly concerned and takes very seriously the charges" against Palimattom. It said when the Diocese learnt about the allegations, it immediately contacted authorities and cooperated in the investigation conducted by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

The cooperation resulted in the arrest of Palimattom. The diocese said it undertakes a thorough screening of visiting priests before granting them faculties to minister or celebrate sacraments within its diocese. As part of its due diligence, the diocese had completed a background screening which also included a screening in India, and received a Certificate of Aptitude from the Minister Provincial in India. During this background process, no prior misconduct was revealed.