METAIRIE, La. — The former priest and non-profit director booked Monday with five counts of video voyeurism and one count of sexual battery was re-booked Friday in connection with another alleged victim and multiple drug charges for the stash of knock-out drugs allegedly found inside of his Metairie home.
Court records show that Stephen Sauer, 59, now faces one additional video voyeurism count as well as 26 counts of illegal drug possession and illegally acquiring prescription medication.
The Jefferson Parish sheriff's office said the electronics seized during Monday's raid revealed another male victim who was photographed in a sexually compromised position without his consent.
At a court hearing Thursday, prosecutor Kellie Rish said the victims were being identified through images of photo I.D.’s that detectives found along with the sexually explicit pictures of men who were passed out.
Detectives determined that the backgrounds in the confiscated photos matched a room in Sauer’s home as well as inside of his car, Rish said. In addition to the seized drugs, Rish said deputies found syringes, condoms and other paraphernalia linking Sauer to the crimes.
Upon his arrest Monday, Sauer was immediately fired from his job as the director of ARC-GNO, a non-profit that helps the developmentally disabled, including its popular program of sorting and selling recycled Mardi Gras beads.
In addition to ARC director, Sauer has held posts ranging from the pastor of the Immaculate Conception Church in downtown New Orleans to serving as a trustee at Loyola University. A spokesperson for the Jesuits said that Sauer left the order “at his own request" in 2020.
Jefferson parish authorities said the investigation is in its early stages as detectives inspect tens of thousands of additional images, but so far, no evidence has turned up linking Sauer’s alleged crimes his work at ARC or his time at Immaculate Conception.
Sauer, who remains locked up on the $75,000-dollar bail set Thursday, will now face a second bail hearing Monday on the new charges. His attorney Michael Ciaccio has not returned calls for comment.