LAFAYETTE (LA)
NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
September 6, 2018
By Julia O’Donoghue
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry’s office says it doesn’t have the authority to launch a broad, multi-parish investigation into Catholic Church sex abuse allegations, though a handful of attorneys general in other states are pursuing such inquiries.
Landry’s office said Catholic clergy sex abuse allegations in Louisiana need to be initially handled by local district attorneys and law enforcement in keeping with state law. A local district attorney could choose to hand over individual alleged clergy sex abuse cases to Landry, but even that wouldn’t allow a statewide investigation into multiple allegations from different communities unless all of the relevant cases were relinquished to the attorney general.
“We don’t have authority to prosecute until a district attorney turns the authority over to us,” Ruth Wisher, spokeswoman for Landry, said Thursday (Sept. 6). “The attorney general obviously has an interest in arresting child predators.”
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