NEW ORLEANS (LA)
Nola.com [New Orleans, LA]
March 25, 2024
By Jillian Kramer
Lawrence Hecker, 92, has been charged with first-degree rape, among other crimes.
Name: Lawrence Hecker
Age: 86 or 87
Position: Diocesan priest in Archdiocese of New Orleans
Served where: St. Mary in New Roads; Christ the King in Terrytown; Holy Family in Luling; Holy Rosary in New Orleans ; Our Lady of Lourdes in New Orleans; St. Anthony in Luling; St. Bernadette in Houma; St. Charles Borromeo (in residence); St. Frances Cabrini; St. Francis Xavier in Metairie; St. Joseph in Gretna; St. Louise de Marillac in Arabi; St. Theresa of Child Jesus
Ordained: 1958
Estimated time of abuse: Late 1960s, 1970s
Allegation received: 1996
Lawsuits filed/previous known allegations: Name included on list that Archdiocese of New Orleans released in late 2018
Removed from ministry: 2002
Current status: Public records say he still lives in Louisiana
Details: The archdiocese of New Orleans said a credible accusation of abuse led to Hecker’s removal from ministry in 2002. Further details are unknown.
The trial for a New Orleans priest accused of sexually abusing a teenage boy nearly 50 years ago was delayed on Monday, giving his defense attorneys time to test Lawrence Hecker’s mental competency.
Hecker, 92, has been charged with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated crime against nature, first-degree rape and theft of $500 or more. According to prosecutors, he abused several teenagers as a clergyman for the Archdiocese of New Orleans. But Hecker has been charged in only one alleged incident.
He was scheduled for trial on Monday. But since he was indicted by a grand jury last fall, Hecker’s physical and mental health has significantly deteriorated, said one of his attorneys, Robert Hjortsberg.
On Monday, Hecker appeared in Criminal District Court for the first time in months, guided into the room in a wheelchair. The attorneys requested his mental competency be evaluated ahead of his trial, but court-appointed psychiatrists hadn’t examined him as of Monday, Hjortsberg said.
Criminal District Court Judge Benedict Willard set a mental competency hearing for April 4.
Hecker’s alleged crimes came to light last year in an investigation by The Guardian. According to the publication, Hecker allegedly confessed in 1999 that he had molested several teenagers over a span of 15 years, but the archdiocese allowed him to stay in the church.
If Hecker is found guilty as charged, he faces a sentence of life in prison.