LAFAYETTE (LA)
Acadiana Advocate
April 12, 2019
The Lafayette Diocese on Friday released the names of 38 clergy members who have been credibly accused of child abuse.
The diocese release follows similar ones from four other Louisiana dioceses, including the Diocese of Baton Rouge and the Archdiocese of New Orleans, prompted by new pressure on church officials to disclose the identities of all offenders.
The Lafayette Diocese disclosure is particularly remarkable, as it is often considered “ground zero” for the decades-long Catholic Church sex abuse crisis, since it was the home of the first widely known abuser, Gilbert Gauthe, in the 1980s.
The list below, in alphabetical order, includes biographical information provided by the diocese or found in media reports, court documents and interviews.
Joseph Alexander
Age: Born 1933
Position: Priest
Served: St. Anthony of Padua, Eunice; Our Lady of Wisdom, Lafayette; Holy Rosary Institute; Lafayette; St. Thomas More High School, Lafayette; St. Mary Priory, Union, Kentucky.
Ordained: 1973
Estimated time of abuse: 1963 in Kentucky
Removed from ministry: Removed in 2002
Details: Acknowledged in 2002 that, when a Benedictine Brother in Owensboro, Kentucky, he molested a boy.
Jules Arceneaux
Age: Born in 1953
Position: Priest
Served: Our Lady of Sacred Heart, Church Point; St. Thomas More, Eunice; St. Joseph, Rayne; St. Francis Regis and St. Catherine, Arnaudville.
Ordained: 1990
Estimated time of abuse:
Allegation received: 2004
Removed from ministry: Removed in 2004
Details: Acting on a tip, federal agents in July 2004 raided the rectory at St. Francis Regis in Arnaudville and found what appeared to be child porn on his computer. The charges were dropped because of uncertainty those pictured were children.
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