LOUISIANA
Louisiana Record
Dawn Geske Jul. 29, 2016
BATON ROUGE, La. — The lawsuit against a television station by a priest over an inaccurate graphic that aired, labeling him as child molester, has been dismissed.
The case was dismissed by a District Judge Wilson Fields against WBRZ-TV. The priest, Rev. Jeff Bayhi, filed the case in regards to a graphic that was aired saying that he abused a parishioner at the age of 14. The graphic also stated that Bayhi died during the time of the investigation.
The graphic aired inaccurately and was corrected at the end of the news broadcast. The 14-year-old girl was abused, but not by Bayhi. She did relay this information to Bayhi during a confessional, which Bayhi is sworn to secrecy from reporting through his priest commandments
Through the lawsuit Bayhi was looking to receive compensation as well as hold the news station accountable for its actions. The station aired the graphic as part of a news story that focused on secrecy of the confessional and allegations of sexual abuse by a now deceased parishioner George Charlet Jr. The graphic didn’t include Bayhi’s name.
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