New Orleans priest accused of child abuse competent to proceed with trial

Lawrence Hecker, 93, self-admitted serial child molester, grapples with Alzheimer’s disease and had trial delayed

The Guardian

November 14, 2024

By Ramon Antonio Vargas in New Orleans

An undated photo of Lawrence Hecker. Photograph: Provided photo

With less than a month to go before his latest scheduled trial date, a self-admitted serial child molester and retired Roman Catholic priest from New Orleans remains competent to proceed with his oft-delayed rape and kidnapping case – albeit marginally, as the 93-year-old grapples with Alzheimer’s disease, according to his most recent medical evaluation.

A pair of doctors who evaluated Lawrence Hecker on 6 November made it a point to note that his illness is “a chronic and progressive disease”, suggesting additional delays beyond several already seen in the case create a risk that the clergyman might decline into a state of legal incompetence, preventing him from ever standing trial given his advanced age.

Hecker is tentatively scheduled to begin being tried on 3 December on charges of child rape, kidnapping and other crimes. He has pleaded not guilty to the counts first filed against him in September 2023. But as many as a dozen witnesses who allege enduring a range of sexually abusive acts by Hecker after he met them during their childhoods between the 1960s and 80s are prepared to testify against him.

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