NEW ORLEANS (LA)
WWL-TV [New Orleans LA]
January 3, 2026
By David Hammer
“I did what I had to do to keep a child predator away from children,” said the attorney, Richard Trahant.
NEW ORLEANS — A New Orleans attorney remained defiant Saturday as another federal court upheld $400,000 in sanctions against him for warning a local high school that a priest with a secret history of abuse allegations was working there.
“I did what I had to do to keep a child predator away from children,” said the attorney, Richard Trahant.
That was Trahant’s response to WWL Louisiana hours after a federal appeals court rejected his years-long bid to overturn a contempt finding and a $400,000 sanction imposed in the Archdiocese of New Orleans bankruptcy case.
Trahant added that he would “go to my grave knowing I didn’t violate the protective order,” insisting his conduct was necessary to protect students after he learned the archdiocese had placed Paul Hart on the Brother Martin High School campus without warning administrators about his history of sexual contact with a high schooler.
But in a 24-page ruling issued Friday, January 2, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reached the opposite conclusion, affirming lower court findings that Trahant knowingly and willfully violated a court-ordered confidentiality agreement – and then prolonged the fallout and the costs of a leak investigation by failing to promptly admit what he had done.
Trahant represented dozens of clergy-abuse survivors, including four who also served on the official committee representing abuse survivors in negotiating a settlement to the archdiocese’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Through that role, Trahant received access to sealed discovery materials detailing sexual abuse allegations against Hart.
Hart was not publicly accused, was not listed on the archdiocese’s “credibly accused” roster and was not named in the bankruptcy claims process, but the sealed records disclosed that church officials found Hart kissed, groped and at least once engaged in what the church described as “dry sex” – simulated intercourse while clothed – with a 17-year-old girl in the early 1990s, when Hart was in his late 30s.
In 2012, the now-adult victim learned Hart was returning to the same church and filed a complaint with the archdiocese. The Guardian later reported that a church investigation found Hart denied initiating what happened but admitted contact, which he could not say did not cause him to ejaculate.
Since 2002, the worldwide Catholic Church has considered anyone younger than 18 underage. But the local church’s investigation of Hart determined he violated his vow of celibacy but did not violate church child molestation laws in effect at the time, which then considered 16 the age of majority.
After reviewing the confidential records, Trahant contacted the principal of Brother Martin — his cousin — to confirm Hart was still serving as chaplain at the high school. He then emailed a reporter now at the Guardian, giving the priest’s name in the subject line and advising the reporter to “keep this guy on your radar.” Trahant later admitted to the court that he intended the reporter to infer the priest was accused of sexual abuse and hoped the journalist would investigate and publish a story.
The journalist — WWL’s reporting partner Ramon Antonio Vargas — reported on the allegations against Hart in the Times-Picayune in January 2022. But Vargas later reported that after receiving Trahant’s email, the details of the allegations against Hart that were included in his story were disclosed by other unnamed sources and not by Trahant.
In his appeal, Trahant argued first that his due-process rights were violated because the bankruptcy court made findings against him before holding a hearing. The Fifth Circuit rejected that claim, ruling the initial order removing Trahant’s clients from the creditors’ committee was not a punishment, but a temporary step to protect confidential information while the investigation continued.
Trahant maintained he never violated the protective order because he disclosed only the priest’s name and job — information he argued was public. The Fifth Circuit disagreed, noting Trahant’s own testimony that he “planted that seed” to keep the priest off campus, using knowledge he obtained solely through sealed discovery.
The court also rejected Trahant’s claim that the $400,000 sanction was excessive, noting he delayed admitting his role in the disclosure for months, forcing an extensive investigation involving dozens of sworn statements and depositions that cost over $700,000. The appeals panel also noted that Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Grabill had already reduced the fees by nearly half when she imposed the penalty against Trahant.
Trahant said he is now considering whether to appeal to the US Supreme Court.