A former Catholic priest in Louisiana who preyed on 17 males who have been intoxicated or wanted assist, drugging and photographing them — and sexually assaulting at the very least a dozen of them — was sentenced on Friday to 25 years in jail.
Choose Shayna Beevers Morvant of the twenty fourth Judicial District Courtroom handed down the sentence to the previous priest, Stephen Sauer, 61, after he pleaded responsible on Friday to 13 counts of sexual battery, 9 counts of third-degree rape, 17 counts of video voyeurism and 16 misdemeanor costs of drug possession, in accordance with a information launch from the district lawyer for Jefferson Parish, which is in southeastern Louisiana and a part of the higher New Orleans space. The decide additionally ordered Mr. Sauer to register as a intercourse offender and barred him from contacting 12 of the victims for all times.
Over a interval of two years starting within the fall of 2019, prosecutors stated, Mr. Sauer preyed on scores of males in varied states of misery and vulnerability within the French Quarter of New Orleans, a neighborhood frequented by vacationers and recognized for its nightlife. In some instances, he would drug their drinks or give them “sleep-inducing substances,” prosecutors stated.
Pretending to supply them help, he would carry them again to his residence in Metairie, La., the most important metropolis in Jefferson Parish, prosecutors stated. He then photographed or videotaped them and sexually assaulted a few of them, in accordance with prosecutors. Mr. Sauer would usually share pictures of the victims on-line and in electronic mail correspondences with others, the district lawyer’s workplace added.
Lots of the victims have been visiting from out of state, misplaced or separated from buddies.
Among the many medication Mr. Sauer used to incapacitate victims was Zolpidem, a narcotic for treating insomnia that has additionally been used as a date rape drug, prosecutors stated. Among the victims have been recognized as a result of investigators discovered driver’s licenses and different identification amongst pictures that Mr. Sauer had taken.
Detectives estimated there may very well be greater than 50 further victims who had not been recognized.
A lawyer for Mr. Sauer didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon Monday.
The Jefferson Parish District Legal professional’s workplace declined to touch upon the case.
Earlier than his arrest in 2021, Mr. Sauer’s LinkedIn profile confirmed he had been the chief director of Arc of Better New Orleans, a nonprofit group devoted to bettering the lives of individuals with disabilities. Earlier than that, he labored as a school member on the College of San Francisco, a non-public Jesuit college. He additionally spent 4 years as a pastor at a Roman Catholic church in New Orleans.
The Arc of Better New Orleans didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon Monday. The church the place Mr. Sauer had served as a pastor declined to remark.
The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Workplace started investigating Mr. Sauer in June 2021 after he despatched his pc to an electronics retailer to be mounted.
“He despatched a tough drive off for restore to a spot in New York,” stated Jason Rivarde, a spokesman for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Workplace. “And there was some stuff found on that onerous drive that led to the investigation.”
A technician on the retailer discovered lots of of pictures on Mr. Sauer’s laborious drive of the victims that advised that they’d been sexually assaulted, the district lawyer’s workplace stated. Legislation enforcement officers in New York alerted the authorities in Louisiana, which started an investigation. Mr. Sauer was arrested in December 2021, Mr. Rivarde stated.
