LOUISIANA
The Raw Story
By David Edwards
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
A Louisiana priest received a standing ovation from his church over the weekend following new details about sexual abuse of a 9-year-old boy in the 1970s.
A report released by Minnesota Public Radio last month included a never-before-published affidavit, which had been sealed by a federal judge in 1995. The document indicated that Father Gilbert Dutel “had been accused of coercing young adult men into having sex.”
“Well, he would just put his arms around me and he was I guess trying to be consoling, kind of gentle and then he just started playing with me and he unzipped my pants,” the victim recalled, according to the affidavit. “He performed oral sex on me.”
The victim said that he had around eight sexual encounters with Dutel in total. Two other priests were also mentioned in the affidavit, but this was the first time that Dutel’s name had been made public.
According to Minnesota Public Radio, Bishop Harry Flynn later told lawyers that Dutel had been “cured,” and that the diocese needed to keep him due to a shortage of priests.
The Daily Advertiser reported that on Sunday Dutel read a statement during Mass at St. Edmond’s Catholic Church, insisting that he was innocent. Church members gave him a standing ovation in response.
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