Former New Orleans priest convicted of raping teen boy dies while serving life sentence

Associated Press/Report for America

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana authorities say a 93-year-old former Catholic priest sentenced to life in prison for raping a teenage boy has died. Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections communications director Ken Pastorick says Lawrence Hecker died of natural causes early Thursday at the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center. After a long-delayed trial, Hecker had been sentenced to life imprisonment on Dec. 18 after pleading guilty to charges including first-degree rape and aggravated kidnapping for an assault against a teenage boy decades ago. Hecker’s conviction comes amid a wave of sexual abuse allegations against the Archdiocese of New Orleans.