Louisiana
Arrested Louisiana priest was accused of ‘inappropriately touching a child’, report says
The arrest of a Roman Catholic priest in south-west Louisiana occurred after local authorities were told that the clergyman had “inappropriately touched a child” over the course of a year, according to investigators’ initial report on the case.
The Guardian obtained the report Friday through a public records request, a week after the sheriff’s office of Acadia parish, Louisiana, booked Korey LaVergne with three counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile.
According to the report, it was the evening of 2 December when Acadia deputies received a complaint that LaVergne had previously molested a juvenile. The accuser had disclosed to a third person “that he was inappropriately touched by father Korey Lavergne … on multiple occasions within the last year,” the report alleged.
Deputies wrote that the inappropriate touching allegedly took place at St Edward Catholic church in the Acadia community of Richard, where LaVergne was pastor.
LaVergne was then jailed the evening of 16 January. He soon made bail in the amount of $15,000 to secure his release from custody pending the outcome of the case.
The sheriff’s office at first said it couldn’t immediately provide details about the nature of the allegations against LaVergne, saying the agency would put that out later as the investigation allowed.
Louisiana law defines indecent behavior with a juvenile as “any lewd or lascivious act … in the presence of any child under the age of 17”. Messages – including texts – and actions alleged to be grooming can constitute the offense under Louisiana’s law.
That particular crime in many cases can carry up to seven years in prison upon conviction.
LaVergne’s arrest came at a crucial juncture in the history of the Lafayette, Louisiana, diocese to which St Edward belongs. Founded in 1918 and tending to a congregation of about 150,000 Catholics, the diocese disclosed in a financial report published in November that it estimated its “total range of potential loss on [pending litigation] … is $88,187,500 to $162,450,000”.
The diocese released that estimate years after the exposure of a Lafayette diocese priest named Gilbert Gauthe effectively brought the decades-old, international Catholic clergy molestation scandal to the United States by pleading guilty in 1985 to molesting several boys. He served 10 years in prison while many more cases across the US subsequently came to light, collectively costing the Catholic church billions and in instances resulting in criminal convictions.
Elsewhere in Louisiana, about 135 miles (217km) east of Lafayette, the Catholic archdiocese of New Orleans agreed in December to pay about $305m to roughly 600 survivors of clergy molestation. New Orleans’s archdiocese reached that agreement more than five years after seeking federal bankruptcy protection amid the financial fallout of the worldwide clergy abuse scandal.
LaVergne was ordained into the priesthood in 2018, a biography on the St Edward church’s website said. The biography said he had been appointed the pastor of St Edward in July 2021.
Prior to his arrest, LaVergne had served as the Lafayette diocese’s official courier. In that role, he attracted news headlines for bringing thousands of pages of documents to the Catholic church’s global headquarters at the Vatican outlining the cause for sainthood for Charlene Richard.
Nicknamed the Little Cajun Saint, Charlene Richard died from acute lymphatic leukemia at age 12 in 1959 and became known for offering up her suffering to God as well as others. She is buried at St Edward.
The Lafayette news station KADN reported on 16 January that the complaint which led to LaVergne’s arrest that day had been made by a fellow priest.
Meanwhile, the Lafayette diocese issued a statement saying it would “continue to assist law enforcement and requests prayers for all who are involved” in the case.
Attempts to contact LaVergne for comment have not been successful.
Louisiana ranks among the top 10 most affordable states to retire, according to a new study from Retirement Living, a national journal of retirement research.
Researchers analyzed each state’s housing costs, living expenses and tax friendliness to compile the ranking. Louisiana, they say, is the eighth most affordable state for retirees.
In Louisiana, the median monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $932, the median home sale price is $255,000, monthly grocery spend per capita is $272, the average price per gallon of regular gas is $4, the average Medicare Advantage monthly premium is $13.35 and the average effective property tax rate is 0.55%.
West Virginia is the most affordable state to retire, followed by Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Louisiana, Indiana and Kansas. Researchers describe the South as “the sweet spot for an affordable retirement.”
The most expensive state to retire, meanwhile, is California, followed by Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Utah, New York and Minnesota.
Read Retirement Living’s full report here.
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – With hurricane season approaching, the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority is bringing the community together to prepare before a storm forms.
“We can’t stop disasters from happening. We can’t stop hurricanes from happening. But what we can do is equip our communities with the resources that they need to prepare for these storms ahead of time,” said Jayda Morris, CPRA outreach manager.
The agency hosted an event featuring interactive storm simulations and a full model of the Mississippi River.
“If you do it now, like on a sunny day like today, you’re ready to go for the rest of the season,” Jay Grymes said.
El Niño may reduce storms, but Louisiana still at risk
State Climatologist Jay Grymes said an El Niño pattern may reduce the number of storms in the Atlantic but warned against a false sense of security.
“In those 25 years, Louisiana, some part of the state has been impacted by 29 storms. That’s one a year, regardless of El Niño. So that should tell you something,” Grymes said.
He said the bigger concern is storms that can form in the Gulf with little warning.
“If we’re going to get a storm, it very possibly could be one that bubbles up in the Gulf and doesn’t give us five or seven days to track it coming our way. It gives us 40 hours to get ready for a landfall. So it’s imperative that you go ahead and do it now,” Grymes said.
Preparation goes beyond stocking water
Preparing now includes walking through yards, checking trees, and knowing whether everyone in the family can survive two weeks without power.
PhD students with the LSU College of the Coast and Environment gave the community a virtual reality experience that puts users inside a storm.
“If they wear the goggles or play with the Apple Vision Pro, they can understand how high will the flood be, and they can know how dangerous is the hurricane scenario,” said Yixuan Wang.
The VR simulation uses real historical data to show users what compound flooding looks like in New Orleans and surrounding areas. The goal is to make the science real for people who can’t picture what a flood map means.
“It’s just to let you understand the environment. We will add the audios, the different sound of the wind and the storm. And you can see how tense of the rainfall around you,” Wang said.
Organizers said the event is about making sure that when a storm threatens the area, families already know their plan.
Information from the event is available on CPRA’s website. Hurricane season runs through Nov. 30.
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BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Louisiana homeowners can get financial help to upgrade their roofs and ensure they can better stand up to strong storms.
According to the Louisiana Department of Insurance, registration for next Louisiana Fortify Homes Program lottery opens at 8 a.m. on Monday, June 1. The registration period will stay open through 5 p.m. on Friday, June 19.
Under the latest round of the program, 3,000 grants of up to $10,000 will go out. After applying, homeowners will get placed into a lottery and will be randomly selected.
There are many specific benefits of having a roof upgraded through the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program. Officials said the roofs have stronger shingles that can protect against hail up to two inches wide, sealed roof decks to help prevent water damage, and stronger edges to keep wind from getting underneath.
Homeowners with a fortified roof can also get a certificate to receive a discount on insurance premiums.
“At the end of the day, this program is about more than just roofs,” said Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple. “It is about protecting families, it is about strengthening communities, and it is about putting Louisiana in a stronger position—both physically and economically—to face the challenges ahead.”
Only people living in Ascension Parish, Livingston Parish, Assumption Parish, Tangipahoa Parish, Acadia Parish, Calcasieu Parish, Cameron Parish, Iberia Parish, Jefferson Parish, Jefferson Davis Parish, Lafayette Parish, Lafourche Parish, Orleans Parish, Plaquemines Parish, St. Bernard Parish, St. Charles Parish, St. James Parish, St. John the Baptist Parish, St. Martin Parish, St. Mary Parish, St. Tammany Parish, Terrebonne Parish, and Vermilion Parish are eligible to apply for the latest round of the program.
People living in a newly built home, mobile home, or condominium are not qualified.
For a detailed list of eligibility requirements, click here.
If a person registered for the program previously, he or she must do so again. The person will also need to provide the following information:
- A homestead exemption on the primary residence.
- A policy of insurance that provides wind coverage for the primary residence.
- A flood insurance policy on the primary residence if it is in a special flood hazard area.
For more information about applying, click here.
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Watch the latest WAFB news and weather now.
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