LAFAYETTE (LA)
KLFY-TV, CBS 10 [Lafayette LA]
March 22, 2024
By Lena Foster
The Louisiana Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the Diocese of Lafayette in an alleged sexual abuse case.
The lawsuit, originally filed in 2018 against Saint Martin de Tours Catholic Church, alleges that Rev. Kenneth Morvant abused Doug Bienvenu, the only plaintiff named in the suit, and other altar boys various times between 1971 and 1979. The plaintiffs’ ages at the time of the alleged abuse range from 8 to 14.
This ruling stems from a 2021 amendment that led to a three-year lookback window.
The judges decided the Louisiana Legislature went above their constitutional power after they gave the opportunity for the lawsuits to be submitted, meaning any sex abuse case involving clergy filed under that lookback window is not to be heard in court.