NEW ORLEANS (LA)
WWL 4 CBS
October 27, 2020
https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/crime/bail-set-for-slidell-priest-accused-of-molestation/289-63cbaf95-8897-41fc-a00b-2b1645f0c33e
Church officials said Wattigny disclosed the alleged abuse to them on Oct. 1, and they immediately reported the admission to law enforcement.
Slidell – Bail for a Catholic priest in jail over allegations of molesting an underage boy in Slidell was set at $150,000 on Tuesday morning.
Patrick Wattigny had not made bond as of early Tuesday afternoon. During a hearing in front of St. Tammany Parish bail commissioner Daniel Foil, Wattigny said he would retain a defense attorney.
That attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Wattigny, 53, appeared before Foil a day after arriving at the St. Tammany Parish jail in Covington. St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies brought him to the lockup Monday, four days after police in West Point, Georgia, arrested Wattigny on a warrant accusing him of four counts of molestation of a juvenile.
Wattigny was in West Point because he owns a home there. Police arrested him at his home after receiving a call saying authorities believed Wattigny was in their jurisdiction.
If convicted of molestation of a juvenile, Wattigny could face a minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison per count.
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