BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A federal judge ordered former Buffalo Diocese priest Jeffrey Nowak to remain in custody Monday after prosecutors laid out disturbing new allegations they argued show he poses a danger to the community.
Nowak, 46, is charged with receipt and possession of child pornography.
During a detention hearing in U.S. District Court, prosecutors argued the evidence against him extends beyond the federal charges and warrants keeping him in jail while the case moves forward.
According to prosecutors, investigators recovered messages in which Nowak allegedly threatened to kill members of his own family and shared images of children in his family while "offering them up" to other people online.
Prosecutors also alleged Nowak praised and distributed the manifesto written by Peyton Gendron, who killed 10 Black people in a racially motivated mass shooting at a Buffalo supermarket in 2022.
WATCH: Judge keeps former Buffalo Diocese priest jailed after prosecutors detail disturbing allegations
They argued the messages showed Nowak aligned himself with white supremacist ideology.
Federal prosecutors told the court investigators recovered child sexual abuse material depicting very young children from electronic devices seized during a search of Nowak's home.
According to prosecutors, the FBI agent assigned to review the evidence described some of the material as among the most disturbing she had encountered in her career.
Defense attorneys asked the judge to release Nowak to home confinement with strict conditions, arguing he had been in "a dark place" for years and no longer posed a danger to the community.
The judge ultimately sided with prosecutors, ruling Nowak should remain jailed because he poses a danger to the public.
Nowak is scheduled to return to federal court for a pretrial hearing on Oct. 14.
