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.

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Fire officials are urging residents to install working smoke alarms after 10 people died in Louisiana house fires this January, all in homes without functioning smoke detectors.

Baton Rouge Fire Chief Kimble made an urgent plea to residents during a news conference on Friday.

“As a fire chief, I am begging, I am begging each citizen of this city and this parish, if you do not have a working smoke alarm, call your local fire department,” Kimble said. “For the city of Baton Rouge, you call out, we will come to your house and get one installed as soon as possible.”

The January deaths continue to be a troubling trend. Louisiana recorded 88 fire deaths last year.

“It’s unheard of that we’ve had that many fatalities,” said State Fire Marshal Bryan Adams in a GOHSEP news conference on Thursday.

Fire department responds to surge in requests

The Baton Rouge Fire Department has received numerous calls from residents requesting help with smoke alarm installation or seeking free alarms through the state fire marshal’s program called “Operation Save a Life.”

Fire department spokesman Billy Zachary said crews are working through a backlog of requests.

“Were making a list and going down the list to fulfill those requests. If you put in a request and it’s taking a few days, just bear with us; we will get to you and get you a smoke alarm,” Zachary said.

The fire department plans to clear the backlog within 72 hours.

“Were trying to get as many as we can done before Sunday night,” Zachary said.

Simple installation process

Installing a smoke alarm requires only basic tools and takes minutes to complete. The devices cost about $20 and require two screws for mounting, but screws and batteries usually come with the device.

Zachary emphasized the importance of smoke alarms for home safety.

“Sometimes people think that it couldn’t happen to them, and it kinda is an out-of-mind sort of thing, but it really does add an extra layer of protection; it takes 10 seconds to test the smoke alarm,” he said.

Officials are asking residents to check their smoke alarms and replace batteries as needed. They also encourage people to check on their neighbors’ safety preparations. Be sure to avoid using power strips and extension cords for space heaters, and make sure your heaters and open flames are turned off and put out before you go to sleep.

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• A fisherman may have set a new Louisiana state record after catching a 256-pound yellowfin tuna.
• The catch was made on a charter boat captained by Eddie Adams of Highlands, New Jersey.

Eddie Adams, a local charter boat captain from the Highlands, may have guided a fisherman to a new Louisiana state record yellowfin tuna after a member of his fishing charter, Jeffrey Tomaloff, landed a 256-pound yellowfin tuna on a Jan. 16 trip to the Gulf.

If the catch is certified, the fish would surpass the current record 251-pound yellowfin tuna set in 2012 by Elliot Sale who landed his near the West Delta Block oil rig, according to the Louisiana Outdoor Writers Association records.

Adams told the Asbury Park Press that the paperwork is filed and they’re just waiting on the certification. Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries confirmed that staff weighed the big fish but it’s the Louisiana Outdoor Writers Association that keeps the records.

Adams runs Henry Smulewitz’s 39-foot Contender Down N Dirty. The boat, powered by triple Honda 350 outboard engines, runs charters here in the spring and fall out of Raritan Bay and Manasquan River. This winter the boat is fishing out of Cypress Cove Marina and Lodge in Venice, Louisiana as part of the Fish Venice Charters’ fleet.

On Jan. 16, Adams had a four-man charter on board and was chasing pogy balls – what they call menhaden pods in Louisiana – about 12 to 15 miles off the coast. In one of the thick clusters of bait, Tomaloff, a Floridian, hooked the big bruiser of a yellowfin on a clear popper. Tomaloff fought it on a 8-foot Jack’s Custom spinning outfit spooled with 80-pound hollow core braided line. Adams said from the hook up to gaff, it took Tomaloff 30 minutes to wrestle in the yellowfin tuna. On the boat was also Mike O’Sullivan from Boston, Mike Le from Louisiana and Andy Brown from Florida.

Lake Hopatcong Ice Contest

The frigid air of late has created a nice layer of ice on the state’s largest freshwater body, Lake Hopatcong. Laurie Murphy at Dows Boat Rentals on Nolans Point Road said in the shallows around the coves the lake has 5 to 7 inches of ice on it. Out in the main lake, she said the ice cover is 4 to 7 inches. Next week, the forecast calls for the temperature to drop down to as low as 5 degrees overnight on Thursday, while daytime temps will be in the teens for most of the week. That has the potential to keep the lake locked up in ice for a while. 

As such, the Knee Deep Club will hold its first ice fishing contest on Feb. 1 from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. There are cash prizes for the three heaviest fish in each category. Entry fee is $20 for club members and $25 for everyone else. Anglers can sign up at Dows or Lake End Marina. Both locations will also serve as official weigh stations. As far as the catch goes, Murphy said anglers are picking away at perch and pickerel. There have been some bass around the state park and a couple walleye out in the deeper parts of the main lake. 

When Jersey Shore native Dan Radel is not reporting the news, you can find him in a college classroom where he is a history professor. Reach him at dradel@gannettnj.com