A former Catholic priest in Louisiana who preyed on 17 males who have been intoxicated or wanted assist, drugging and photographing them — and sexually assaulting at the very least a dozen of them — was sentenced on Friday to 25 years in jail.
Decide Shayna Beevers Morvant of the twenty fourth Judicial District Court docket handed down the sentence to the previous priest, Stephen Sauer, 61, after he pleaded responsible on Friday to 13 counts of sexual battery, 9 counts of third-degree rape, 17 counts of video voyeurism and 16 misdemeanor fees of drug possession, in response to a information launch from the district legal professional for Jefferson Parish, which is in southeastern Louisiana and a part of the better New Orleans space. The decide additionally ordered Mr. Sauer to register as a intercourse offender and barred him from contacting 12 of the victims for all times.
Over a interval of two years starting within the fall of 2019, prosecutors mentioned, Mr. Sauer preyed on scores of males in varied states of misery and vulnerability within the French Quarter of New Orleans, a neighborhood frequented by vacationers and recognized for its nightlife, In some circumstances, he would drug their drinks or give them “sleep-inducing substances,” prosecutors mentioned.
Pretending to supply them help, he would deliver them again to his house in Metairie, La., the biggest metropolis in Jefferson Parish, prosecutors mentioned. He then photographed or videotaped them and sexually assaulted a few of them, in response to prosecutors. Mr. Sauer would typically share images of the victims on-line and in e-mail correspondences with others, the district legal professional’s workplace added.
Most of the victims have been visiting from out of state, misplaced or separated from associates.
Among the many medication Mr. Sauer used to incapacitate victims was Zolpidem, a narcotic for treating insomnia that has additionally been used as a date rape drug, prosecutors mentioned. A number of the victims have been recognized as a result of investigators discovered driver’s licenses and different identification amongst images that Mr. Sauer had taken.
Detectives estimate there might be greater than 50 extra victims who had not been recognized.
A lawyer for Mr. Sauer didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon Monday.
The Jefferson Parish District Legal professional’s workplace declined to touch upon the case.
Earlier than his arrest in 2021, Mr. Sauer’s LinkedIn profile confirmed he had been the chief director of Arc of Better New Orleans, a nonprofit group devoted to enhancing the lives of individuals with disabilities. Earlier than that, he labored as a school member on the College of San Francisco, a personal Jesuit college. He additionally spent 4 years as a pastor at a Roman Catholic church in New Orleans.
The Arc of Better New Orleans didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon Monday. The church the place Mr. Sauer had served as a pastor declined to remark.
The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Workplace started investigating Mr. Sauer in June 2021 after he despatched his pc to an electronics retailer to be fastened.
“He despatched a tough drive off for restore to a spot in New York,” mentioned Jason Rivarde, a spokesman for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Workplace. “And there was some stuff found on that tough drive that led to the investigation.”
A technician on the retailer discovered a whole lot of images on Mr. Sauer’s arduous drive of the victims that advised that that they had been sexually assaulted, the district legal professional’s workplace mentioned. Legislation enforcement officers in New York alerted the authorities in Louisiana, which started an investigation. Mr. Sauer was arrested in December 2021, Mr. Rivarde mentioned.