HOW Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry Is Handling Clergy Sex Abuse Allegations
By Julia O'Donoghue
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry is turning complaints he receives about Catholic clergy sexual misconduct over to local sheriffs, documents received through a public records request show, even as attorneys general in 13 states and the District of Columbia are actively pursuing investigations. Landry says he doesn’t have the authority or resources to investigate the matter himself. “If you are a victim or a legally mandated reporter, we urge you to contact your local law enforcement agency. If our office may assist anyone in connecting them to the proper agency, please call the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation at 800-256-4506,” Ruth Wisher, the attorney general’s spokeswoman, wrote in a statement Friday (Nov. 2) accompanying the release of the public records. From Aug. 28 to Sept. 25, six individuals reached out to Landry about alleged Catholic clergy sexual abuse of minors or its coverup. Four were bringing specific cases of abuse to his office’s attention, asking for assistance or an investigation. Two others, identifying as victims, asked Landry to looking into clergy sexual abuse more broadly and volunteered to testify in court proceedings, according to the records. The complaints involved alleged abuse that had taken place decades ago in Lafayette, New Orleans, Pineville and Alexandria. Two concerned the case of Richard Windmann, who publicly came forward in September to say he was abused by a janitor at Jesuit High School in the 1970s. Information about Windmann’s case, including a settlement agreement and an audio recording relevant to it, was sent to Landry’s office shortly before Windmann shared his story with the media in late September. Landry, in a written statement, had said on Sept. 7 that his office had never received “one single complaint" about clergy abuse since he took over in 2016. Records released by his agency last week show that isn’t the case. At least two letters, including a request for a grand jury investigation, were received by his agency days before he made that comment. According to the records provided, Landry’s office has followed up the complaints it has received by having an investigator or staff member try to contact the complainant and conduct an interview about the allegations. A letter was then sent to the person expressing condolences for the alleged abuse and directing them to reach out to local authorities for further assistance. Landry’s staff then usually sent a letter, when possible, to the local sheriff or police department where the abuse allegedly occurred, explaining what his office knew about the accusations. Having local law enforcement handle clergy abuse allegations isn’t sufficient, said Tim Lennon, a national spokesman for Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP). Abusive priests were moved around, meaning that the same person could have molested children across many jurisdictions in Louisiana, Lennon said. “It’s not just one place that needs to be investigated,” said Lennon, who is based in St. Louis. “The attorney general has the ability to centralize the information in a way that others cannot.” Landry’s approach to clergy abuse allegations is not as aggressive as that of other states attorneys general. Their increased scrutiny followed an explosive investigation from Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who found that about 300 priests had sexually abused more than 1,000 victims over 50 years in six of the state’s eight Catholic dioceses. The report, released in August, touched off another round of inquiries about clergy sexual abuse across the country because priests he identified had also worked in other states, including Louisiana. Landry has said he cannot call a grand jury to look into the matter like Shapiro did. Even if a local district attorney chose to hand over an individual clergy abuse case to Landry, it wouldn’t allow him to launch a multi-parish investigation. Attorneys general in other states are finding a way around the same legal barriers Landry faces. In Missouri, Attorney General Josh Hawley, who just got elected to the U.S. Senate, also doesn’t have the power to subpoena or prosecute. Instead, he requested cooperation from the church to investigate and asked dioceses to turn over documents. Kentucky’s attorney general is asking his legislature to rewrite laws so that he has more power to look into Catholic Church sex abuse. Other attorneys general are setting up hotlines for victims, meeting with local bishops to discuss the matter or coordinating a joint effort with district attorneys who have prosecutorial authority the attorneys general may not possess. Lennon said a good first step for Louisiana would be to set up a statewide hotline to solicit tips, complaints and information about clergy sexual abuse. Lennon said many abuse victims may want to report what happened to them, but do not have a clear sense of where to go with the information. New Jersey’s attorney general was flooded with calls after starting a hotline in September. Pennsylvania also received more than 1,000 new phone calls related to clergy sex abuse following the release of its report in August, according to Lennon. “I believe if they established a hotline in Louisiana, they would be overwhelmed with calls,” Lennon said. “Do they think the church is more ethical in Louisiana than in other places?” About 50 dioceses across the country have released lists of priests found to be credibly accused of sexual abuse in recent months. The Archdiocese of New Orleans put out its own list of 57 “credibly accused” clergy last week. Most, if not all, of Louisiana’s other dioceses are expected to do the same eventually. It’s unclear if Landry’s office has been handling any new allegations of Catholic clergy sexual abuse differently following the release of the New Orleans' list. His spokeswoman did not respond to texts, emails or phone calls with follow up questions since the list was made public Friday. In September, Landry’s office said any state investigation of clergy abuse would best be handled by the Louisiana State Police, which is under the control of Gov. John Bel Edwards. Landry, a Republican, and Edwards, a Democrat, are political rivals who have feuded publicly. In all other states currently investigating clergy abuse, the attorney general – not the governor – is taking the lead on the issue. In September, Edwards said the state police will continue to handle allegations of clergy sexual abuse as they always have, on a case-by-case basis when asked for assistance. The governor has made no moves toward launching a statewide investigation into clergy misconduct from that agency. Since early 2014, the state police have conducted three investigations into clergy sexual misconduct, according to documents received through a public records request. They were asked to look into the matter by local law enforcement agencies and, in one of the cases, an official from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The cases involved three priests who served in Lafayette, Church Point and Youngsville. In one case, the priest ended up being convicted of possessing child pornography. In the two others, no charges were brought, either because the alleged abuse happened too long ago or alleged victims would not participate in the investigation, according to the records from state police.
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