Lawrence Hecker, a self-confessed serial child molester and former Roman Catholic priest, pleaded guilty Tuesday morning, just before a jury was selected in his criminal trial for kidnapping and raping a young boy in the mid-1970s. .
The 93-year-old is scheduled to be sentenced to a mandatory life sentence in state criminal court in New Orleans on Dec. 18, much less a Catholic clergyman to be indicted in connection with decades of the church. Conviction is rare. An old office worker molestation scandal.
Hecker’s attorney, Robert Hjortzberg, said Tuesday that his client “takes responsibility for the charges and that all parties involved have an opportunity to move forward.”
“It was his decision and he did it of his own free will,” Hjortzberg said.
The victim in the trial Mr. Hecker avoided claimed to have been an underage student at a Catholic high school with whom Mr. Hecker had an affair when the priest strangled the man to unconsciousness and raped him around 1975. .
The accuser reported telling the school’s principal about the rape, which occurred in a space converted into a weightlifting room in the church’s bell tower. But the accuser said principal Paul Calamari never called the police and instead arranged for her to undergo psychotherapy.
Hecker initially denied the accusations. But in 1999, he admitted in a letter to Catholic Church leaders in New Orleans that he sexually abused and sexually harassed several other children he met through his ministry.
Nevertheless, the Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans allowed Hecker to return to work before retiring several years later. The archdiocese then waited until 2018 to finally notify the public that Mr. Hecker, along with Mr. Calamari and dozens of other priests, had been the subject of serious and credible child sexual abuse allegations. , ultimately forcing the diocese to file for bankruptcy protection in 2020.
The Guardian was able to obtain a copy of Hecker’s 1999 confession, which was released to the public for the first time in June 2023, despite the information about the bankruptcy being sealed.
In August 2023, the Guardian shared a confession with New Orleans CBS affiliate Louisiana WWL, and both outlets confronted Hecker on camera in August 2023.
During the confrontation, Hecker confirmed the authenticity of his written confession. And weeks later, New Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams secured a grand jury indictment charging Hecker in connection with child rape and kidnapping charges.
The case was delayed for more than a year, citing questions about Hecker’s mental competency to stand criminal trial. He has been battling dementia associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
In addition, at the trial date set for September, just before jury selection, the judge who had originally presided over Hecker’s case, Benedict Willard, announced that he had a trial date set for September, citing a personality conflict with the lead prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Ned McGowan. Suddenly, he withdrew from the problem. Judge Nandi Campbell then took over the case and accepted Hecker’s guilty plea on Tuesday as the first panel of prospective jurors waited in the hallway for the selection process to begin.
More than a dozen witnesses were prepared to testify against Hecker, claiming they endured various acts of sexual abuse by Hecker after they met as children from the 1960s to the 1980s. Williams said Hecker called him Tuesday to tell him he had pleaded guilty.
Richard Trahant, a civil lawyer representing the main victim in Hecker’s case, said the priest was “disastrous” after admitting what he had done to his client, who was traveling when news of the plea broke. He said he hoped that the victims would not suffer much more.
The law enforcement investigation into Hecker subsequently led to the archdiocese running a child sex trafficking ring responsible for “extensive abuse of minors dating back decades” that was “concealed and unreported” to authorities. It was reported that the investigation had expanded to include whether or not he had done so. Police sworn statement.
None of Hecker’s supervisors have been charged in the case against him. Aaron Hebert, one of the supporting witnesses preparing to testify against Hecker, said Tuesday he hoped that would change.
“Hecker is just the tip of the iceberg,” Ebert said.
The last Catholic priest to be charged with child rape in New Orleans was Deacon George Brignac, who died while awaiting trial. The indictment, pending at the time of his death, was the last of four unsuccessful attempts to criminally prosecute Brignac. He was arrested three times between 1977 and 1988, once acquitted at trial, and on two other occasions prosecutors dropped the charges.
The archdiocese issued a statement Tuesday that said in part, “We hope that today’s court proceedings bring healing and peace to the victims of sexual abuse and to all victims.”
Williams on Tuesday praised Hecker’s guilty plea as a “watershed moment for some boys who have become men” and have lived with the effects of abuse at the hands of the retired priest for decades. .
“This ends the criminal legal battle for these survivors,” Williams said.
In the US, call or text the Childhelp Abuse Hotline at 800-422-4453, visit our website for more resources, report child abuse, or DM us for help. please. For adult survivors of child abuse, support is available at ascasupport.org. In the UK, the NSPCC provides support for children on 0800 1111 and support for adults concerned about children on 0808 800 5000. The National Association of Child Abusers (Napac) offers support to adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In Australia, children, young people, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800. or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of support can be found at Child Helplines International.
