(LA)
KADN - Fox 15 [Lafayette LA]
June 11, 2026
By Jim Hummel
Six months after his arrest on child sex crimes, Fr. Korey Lavergne of St. Edward Catholic Church in Richard is due in court on Friday morning for a pre-trial hearing.
In a social media post that’s since been deleted, St. Edward Catholic Church announced plans for parishioners to gather at the church on Friday morning and pray the rosary for Fr. Lavergne and “all those affected by this difficult situation.”
The church’s post was deleted from social media after about three hours.
“It’s the wrong signal when a church community refuses to pray or mention victims in their prayers,” said Letitia Peyton with TentMakers of Louisiana, a non-profit that supports victims of clergy sex abuse.
Fr. Lavergne was arrested in January on three counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile. He was formally charged in March and entered a written not guilty plea.
As News 15 Investigates exclusively reported, a criminal complaint was filed against Fr. Lavergne by a fellow priest in early December. That priest reported that a boy told him he was inappropriately touched by Fr. Lavergne at St. Edward Catholic Church in Richard on multiple occasions within the last year.
Lavergne was under criminal investigation for over six weeks before his mid-January arrest, and News 15 Investigates uncovered that the Diocese of Lafayette was also aware of the complaint during that time. The accuser’s mother told News 15 both she and her son met with Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel in early December.
Lavergne’s bio has been removed from the Diocese of Lafayette’s website.