Slidell Priest Patrick Wattigny in St. Tammany Jail after Molestation Arrest in Georgia

By David Hammer
WWL 4 CBS
October 26, 2020

https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/investigations/david-hammer/slidell-priest-patrick-wattigny-in-st-tammany-jail-after-molestation-arrest-in-georgia/289-b4f320e8-5186-4e9d-91e2-9159d728e229

The Archdiocese of New Orleans said Wattigny self-reported Oct. 1 that he had abused a teen in December 2013.

A long-time Slidell priest accused of molesting an underage boy between five and seven years ago has been extradited from Georgia to the St. Tammany Parish jail.

Patrick Wattigny arrived Monday evening at the jail in Covington wearing an Archbishop Rummel t-shirt and a mask around 5:40 p.m. after a five-hour drive from the Troup County jail in western Georgia, where he was arrested Thursday as a fugitive from St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s deputies, who had issued a warrant for his arrest on four counts of molestation of a juvenile.

Wattigny was the pastor at St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic Church in Slidell since 2013 and also served as chaplain at Pope John Paul II High School until he was removed this summer for sending inappropriate texts to a current student.