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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
David Hammer of WWL-TV in New Orleans

Retired priest pleads not guilty to raping child in New Orleans in the late 70s

silhouette of priest holding crucifix
The Catholic church in New Orleans has been roiled by allegations of the sexual abuse of children and the resulting cover-up. Photograph: Gerald Herbert/AP

The retired Catholic priest Lawrence Hecker pleaded not guilty in a New Orleans courtroom on Wednesday, five days after he turned himself in to jail on aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated crime against nature and theft charges.

He’s accused in a grand jury indictment of raping a teenage boy in 1975 or 1976 after the unnamed victim “resisted to the utmost but … was overcome by force”.

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