LAFAYETTE (LA)
KLFY-TV, CBS 10 [Lafayette LA]
November 12, 2026
By Renee Allen
Former Diocese of Lafayette priest Michael Guidry is scheduled to be released from prison this Saturday, Nov. 14, after serving a seven-year sentence for molesting an altar boy. However, Guidry faces a new civil lawsuit accusing him of sexually abusing another altar boy decades earlier.
Attorney Regan Charleston Thomas filed the lawsuit in Lafayette civil court on behalf of a Lafayette man who states Guidry sexually abused him in the 1970s. The alleged assault occurred 40 years before the 2015 case that resulted in Guidry’s criminal conviction and imprisonment.
Charleston Thomas emphasized that the civil lawsuit is distinct from the criminal case that sent Guidry to prison. “It’s important to note that this criminal case for which Guidry has been imprisoned is unrelated to my client’s case, which we have filed in civil court in Lafayette,” Charleston Thomas said.
The new filing comes after the Archdiocese of New Orleans released a list of accused individuals. Charleston Thomas questioned how long diocese officials were aware of allegations against Guidry and why he was permitted to remain in ministry.
“So much time passed between his sexual abuse and the sexual abuse of this other young man,” Charleston Thomas said. “It absolutely begs the question, what did the diocese know? And how are these priests and clergymen allowed to continue working in the diocese and have access to our children? It’s very deeply troubling. We’ve served discovery responses related to Michael Gidry to seek, answers about what the diocese knew and when they knew it and we don’t have any answers yet.”
Charleston Thomas advocates for stronger protections for children. “It’s very simple. Keep predators away from children,” Charleston Thomas said. “It shouldn’t take a bunch of attorneys to go out and march in the streets and, you know, beg for the protection of children but here we are.”