Former New Orleans priest, 93, is sentenced to life in prison for raping boy decades ago

Associated Press/Report for America

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A New Orleans judge has sentenced a 93-year-old former Catholic priest to spend the rest of his life behind bars for raping a teenage boy in the 1970s. Lawrence Hecker had pleaded guilty to aggravated kidnapping, aggravated crime against nature, first-degree rape and theft moments before jury selection was scheduled to begin in his trial this month. Hecker’s sentence Wednesday comes as the Archdiocese of New Orleans deals with fallout from a wave of sexual abuse lawsuits and allegations that church leaders ignored predatory priests. The Archdiocese is engaged in a long-running bankruptcy settlement prompted by the abuse allegations.