Louisiana State Police executed a search warrant at the Archdiocese of New Orleans headquarters on Thursday, as part of a widening investigation into long-standing sexual abuse allegations within the church.
The search took place at the archdiocese headquarters on Walmsley Avenue and was approved earlier in the week by Orleans Criminal Court Judge Juana Lombard.
The search complies with the order of a New Orleans judge who is in charge of the criminal investigation against former priest Lawrence Heckeras reported by New Orleans Local News (NOLA).
The New Orleans Prosecutor’s Office has charged Hecker, 92, with kidnapping and raping a teenager that he allegedly committed decades ago, when he served as a priest of the archdiocese.
A trial against the priest, which was due to begin in March, was delayed after his lawyers argued that the defendant is not mentally competent.
A team of forensic psychiatrists recently said the 92-year-old priest is unfit to stand trial due to short-term memory loss.
The declaration of the evaluating doctors is now scheduled for May 23. The standard of competency to stand trial is whether someone is able to understand the proceedings pending against them and significantly assist the attorneys representing them.
Authorities are searching all church records with the goal of identifying all priests and deacons who faced allegations while working in the diocese.
Louisiana State Police Trooper Jacob Pucheu, public information officer, said the search was conducted “during a meeting with representatives and attorneys from the Archdiocese of New Orleans” and investigators from the special victims unit of the state police.
“The Archdiocese is actively cooperating with investigators and the terms of the search warrant“Pucheu said in a statement. “This investigation remains ongoing and no additional information is available at this time.”
It is also seeking to establish whether the religious authorities made reports to the Police.
A New Orleans criminal court had ordered the Archdiocese of New Orleans to turn over the records, as part of a long-running criminal investigation involving several accused priests.
New Orleans Magistrate Juana M. Lombard signed the order on April 22, allowing the Louisiana State Police to obtain files from the archdiocese identifying all permanent priests and deacons who had been accused of sexual abuse with minors.
The order of Judge Juana Lombard also requests the archdiocese’s communications with the Vatican related to clergy sexual abuse.
The Archdiocese of New Orleans filed for bankruptcy protection in May 2020, after at least 30 allegations were made against the diocese of child sexual abuse by clergy, most of which date back decades.
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