NEW ORLEANS — Former Catholic Priest Lawrence Hecker was sentenced to life in prison without parole Wednesday morning.
Hecker, 93, pleaded guilty to all counts on December 3- aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated crime against nature, and theft for suffocating a teenage boy until he was unconscious and raping him in a church in 1975.
Earlier in the proceeding, the victim who pressed the case that led to Hecker’s guilty plea described his rape in gut-wrenching detail, our reporting partner at The Guardian said.
“I don’t forgive him,” said the victim, who was about 16 when the cleric assaulted him in 1975 at a church next to a high school that the then teenager attended.
Alluding to how Hecker’s superiors protected him from law enforcement authorities for decades, he added: “In my opinion, the archdiocese should be sitting there with him – because they are complicit in this as well.”
Other victims who endured sexual abuse at the hands of Hecker, now 93, and were prepared to testify at the trial averted by the cleric’s guilty plea on 3 December also spoke at Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, including one who dismissed him as “an animal”.
The judge Nandi Campbell was weeping as she sentenced Hecker.
“I hope this sentence gives you some closure,” Campbell said, though she acknowledged how difficult it would be.
Hecker's guilty plea eliminated the need for the trial involving decades-old allegations and recent revelations of abuse and coverup. The plea brings an end to months of legal wrangling over his competency to stand trial.
Ramon Antonio Vargas of The Guardian US contributed to this report.
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