ALL CALLS ARE STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL

Diocese of Lafayette ACCUSED PRIESTS

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette includes the parishes of St. Landry, Evangeline, Lafayette, St. Martin, Iberia, St. Mary, Acadia, and Vermillion. The Diocese consists of Cajun, Louisiana. Like many other dioceses throughout the world, the Diocese of Lafayette has been the subject of many allegations of child sexual abuse by priests. As of 2004, the Diocese paid out about $26 million to settle claims with 123 victims that priests abused between 1950 and 2002.

In April 2019, after initially refusing to release names, the Diocese released a list of 33 priests and four deacons credibly accused of sexual abuse. The Diocese named the following priests and deacons: Joseph Alexander, Jules Arceneaux, Susai Arul, Stanley Begnaud, Michael Benedict, David Broussard, J. Richard Chachere, David Anderson Coupar, Hebert de Launay, John deLeeuw, Michael DesJardins, John Anthony Engbers, Ronald Lane Fontenot, Gilbert John Gauthe, Aldeo Fernand Gilbert, Michael Guidry, Lloyd Hebert, Michael Herpin, Marshall Larrivere, Robert Limoges, Keith Anthony Potier, David Primeaux, Valerie Pullman, Harry Quick, Richard Riebolt, Robie Robichaux, Jody Simoneaux, Gerard Smit, Jean Touissaint, Adrian Walter Van Hal, Cornelius Van Merrianboer, Rosaire Veilleux, Charles Zaunbrecher, Lester Breaux, Willis Broussard, Leonard J. Freyou, and Louis Hanemann. 

However, the list did not include nuns or religious order priests and lacked details about the alleged abuse, such as when or where it happened.  

The most widely publicized case of sexual abuse by a priest in the Diocese involved former Priest Gilbert Gauthe. Gauthe served in the Diocese of Lafayette from 1972 to 1983, and he was the first priest in the US to be tried criminally for child sexual abuse. Gauthe admitted to sodomizing and raping 37 children, beginning in 1972. Gauthe served 20 years in prison, was released early, and was later arrested for sexually abusing a child in Texas. 

In early 2021, a Louisiana state appellate court ruled that the Diocese was required to provide information to a woman who filed a lawsuit alleging sexual abuse by a priest. The information sought related to whether the victim initiated the lawsuit within the state’s deadline to file such claims. The woman, suing as “TM Doe,” claimed in the case that Monsignor Robie Robichaux sexually abused her when she was 16 years old at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in New Iberia. According to the victim, she sought counseling from the priest and, after the second visit, Robichaux took her into his bedroom, where he told her God wanted him to have intimacy and she was God’s gift to him. 

Robichaux sexually abused the victim for the next two years. The child survivor reported the abuse to then-Bishop Harry Flynn in the early 1990s. Flynn agreed to pay for the victim’s therapy costs for up to five years if she would sign a document stating that the payment was not an admission of the Church’s guilt. The woman refused to do so. A church vicar later told her she needed to get over what happened to her. 

The victim again reported the abuse about ten years later after the Church implemented a zero-tolerance policy for sexual abuse by priests. Rather than disciplining Robichaux, the Church transferred him and then later promoted him. When the victim reported the abuse for the third time, church officials told her they lost her file. However, the Diocesan Review Board investigated and found the allegations credible and finally removed Robichaux in 2018. 

In response to the victim’s civil lawsuit, the Church argued that the court should bar the victim from bringing her claim because many years had passed since the abuse.

As recently as June 2021, the Diocese placed a deacon on leave following allegations of child sex abuse that occurred decades ago. Newly ordained as a deacon, Shawn Jude Gautreaux gained assignment to St. Bernard Catholic Church in Breaux Bridge. The Diocese reported the allegations to law enforcement. 

Due to varied responses when reporting instances of child sexual abuse happening within the Church and the fear, shame, and confusion that follows the invasive harm, many victims wait years to speak up about the abuse. New Orleans Representative Jason Hughes pointed to research showing that the average age of disclosure of child sex abuse is 52. 

Hughes sponsored House Bill 492, passed by the Louisiana Legislature in June 2021, which sets aside the statute of limitations for ongoing civil claims of child sexual abuse and provides a look-back window for survivors who previously lost their chance to seek compensation for their injuries and suffering. The window commences on August 1, 2021, and continues for three years, during which time child sex abuse survivors of any age can file for civil damages, regardless of how long ago the abuse happened. 

Don’t forgo any more time. If you or someone you love suffered harm at the Diocese of Lafayette, contact the sexual abuse lawyers at Herman Law today for a free consultation. We want to help you seek the justice you deserve. 

See who is on the Diocese of Lafayette’s list of credibly accused clergy

Year born: 1933

Year ordained: 1973

Assignments

  • St. Mark Priory, Union, Kentucky
  • Our Lady of Wisdom, Lafayette
  • Holy Rosary Institute, Lafayette
  • St. Thomas More High School, Lafayette
  • St. Anthony of Padua, Eunice

Status: removed, 2002

Year born: 1953

Year ordained: 1990

Assignments

  • Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Church Point
  • St. Thomas More, Eunice
  • St. Joseph, Rayne
  • St. Francis Regis and St. Catherine, Arnaudville

Status: removed, 2004

Year born: 1928

Year ordained: 1957

Assignments

  • Sacred Heart of Jesus, Ville Platte
  • St. Catherine, Leonville
  • St. Jules, Prairie Laurent
  • St. Leo the Great, Lafayette

Status: resigned, 1988; deceased, 2002

Year born: 1921

Year ordained: 1958

Assignments 

  • St. Peter the Apostle, Gueydan
  • St. Joseph, Rayne
  • Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Iberia
  • St. Stephen, Berwick
  • Our Lady of Fatima, Lafayette
  • Our Lady of Mercy, Opelousas
  • St. Margaret of Scotland, Lake Charles
  • St. Edward, Richard, and St. Thomas, Savoy Sts. Peter and Paul, Scott
  • St. Leo IV, Roberts Cove
  • Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Lafayette

Status: retired, 1982; deceased, 1985

Year born: 1915

Year ordained: 1943

Assignments

  • Immaculate Conception, Lake Charles
  • St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville
  • Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Lafayette
  • Our Lady of Fatima, Lafayette
  • Sacred Heart of Jesus, Oakdale
  • St. Margaret of Scotland, Lake Charles
  • St. Peter, New Iberia
  • Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mire
  • Most Holy Sacrament Convent, Lafayette

Status: retired, 1979; deceased, 1998

Year born: 1966

Year ordained: 1993

Assignments

  • St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville
  • Our Lady of Mercy, Opelousas
  • St. Joseph, Iota and St. Michael, Egan
  • Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, Kaplan
  • St. Joseph, Evangeline, and St. Jules, Petit Mamou
  • St. Bernard, Breaux Bridge

Status: removed, 2016; pleaded guilty in 2018; incarcerated

Year born: 1940

Year ordained: 1965

Assignments

  • Our Lady Queen of Heaven, Lake Charles
  • St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville
  • St. Anne, Youngsville

Status: resigned, 1978; deceased, 2012

Year born: 1952

Year ordained: 1980

Assignments

  • Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Iberia
  • St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Abbeville
  • St. Leo the Great, Leonville
  • St. Anthony of Padua, Krotz Springs
  • Our Lady of Victory, Loreauville
  • Catholic High, New Iberia
  • Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Leroy

Status: resigned, 1994

Year born: 1948

Year ordained: 1975

Assignments

  • Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, Kaplan
  • Our Lady Queen of All Saints, Ville Platte
  • Our Lady of Sacred Heart, Church Point
  • St. John the Baptist, Lyons Point
  • American Legion Hospital, Crowley
  • St. Ann, Mamou
  • Our Lady of Holy Rosary, Kaplan
  • St. Andrew, Plaisance
  • St. Peter, Carencro
  • Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Iberia
  • St. Bernadette, Bayou Vista

Status: removed, 1999

Year born: 1918

Year ordained: 1944

Assignments

  • St. Martin de Tours, St. Martinville
  • St. Genevieve, Lafayette
  • St. Jules, Lafayette
  • Charity Hospital, Lafayette
  • St. Eugene, Grand Chenier
  • St. Leo the Great, Lafayette

Status: retired, 1986; removed, 2011; deceased, 2015

Year born: 1950

Year ordained: 1976

Assignments

  • Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Lafayette
  • St. Landry, Opelousas
  • St. Mary, Port Barre
  • Sts. Peter and Paul, Scott
  • St. Martin de Porres, Scott
  • St. Bridget, Lawtell
  • St. Anthony of Padua, Eunice

Status: resigned, 1992

Year born: 1922

Year ordained: 1949

Assignments

  • St. Peter, New Iberia
  • Immaculate Conception, Lake Charles
  • Our Lady of the Lake, Lake Arthur
  • St. Anthony of Padua, Eunice
  • St. Helena, Louisa
  • St. Peter the Apostle, Gueydan
  • St. John the Evangelist, Mermentau
  • Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Leroy

Status: deceased, 1989

Year born: 1946

Year ordained: 1975

Assignments

  • St. Peter the Apostle, Gueydan
  • Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Iberia
  • Our Lady of Mercy, Opelousas
  • Sacred Heart of Jesus, Baldwin
  • Our Lady of Fatima, Lafayette

Status: removed, 1984; resigned, 1984; deceased, 2014

Year born: 1945

Year ordained: 1971

Assignments 

  • St. Michael the Archangel, Crowley
  • Sacred Heart of Jesus, Broussard
  • Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Iberia
  • St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville
  • St. John, Henry

Status: removed, 1983; resigned, 1983; convicted, 1985

Year born: 1917

Year ordained: 1943

Assignments 

  • St. Michael the Archangel, Crowley
  • Sacred Heart of Jesus, Ville Platte
  • St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Abbeville

Status: resigned, 1968; deceased, 2007

Year born: 1943

Year ordained: 1971

Assignments 

  • Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Lafayette
  • Our Lady of Fatima, Lafayette
  • Sts. Peter and Paul, Scott
  • St. Martin De Porres, Scott
  • Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Lafayette
  • St. Joseph, Evangeline and St. Jules, Petit Mamou
  • St. John, Mermentau and St. Margaret, Estherwood
  • Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Church Point
  • St. Anthony of Padua, Krotz Springs
  • St. Joseph, Patterson
  • St. Jules, Franklin
  • Sacred Heart of Jesus, Baldwin
  • Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Franklin
  • Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Iberia
  • St. Leo the Great, Lafayette
  • St. Peter, Morrow

Status: removed, 2018; convicted 2019

Year born: 1928

Year ordained: 1957

Assignments

  • St. Margaret of Scotland, Lake Charles
  • St. Peter the Apostle, Gueydan
  • St. Peter, New Iberia
  • St. Mary of the Lake, Big Lake
  • Our Lady Queen of Angels, Opelousas

Status: removed, 1985; deceased, 2004

Year born: 1941

Year ordained: 1966

Assignments 

  • St. Raphael, lowa
  • St. Landry, Opelousas
  • Immaculate Conception, Lake Charles
  • Our Lady Help of Christians, Jennings
  • St. Paul, Elton
  • St. Joseph, Elton
  • Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Iberia
  • Sacred Heart of Jesus, Broussard
  • Our Lady of Mercy, Henderson
  • St. Joseph, Milton

Status: removed, 2002

Year born: 1937

Year ordained: 1963

Assignments 

  • St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville
  • Leave — Studies for Deaf Chaplaincy
  • Leave — Chaplain in U.S. Armed Services

Status: removed, 1994; deceased, 2014

Accordion Content

Year born: 1930

Year ordained: 1979

Assignments

  • St. Anthony of Padua, Eunice
  • Our Lady of Victory, Loreauville

Status: leave, 1984; removed, 1984

Year born: 1947

Year ordained: 1973

Assignments 

  • St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Abbeville
  • Our Lady of Holy Rosary, Kaplan
  • Our Lady Queen of Heaven, Lake Charles
  • Our Lady of Victory, Loreauville

Status: resigned, 1981; deceased, 2009

Year born: 1950

Year ordained: 1975

Assignments

  • Sts. Peter and Paul, Scott
  • Our Lady of Fatima, Lafayette
  • Immaculata Seminary, Lafayette
  • Chancery, Lafayette
  • Sacred Heart of Jesus, Broussard
  • Our Lady of Wisdom, Lafayette
  • St. Joseph, Milton

Status: removed, 1985; resigned, 1985; deceased, 2012

Year born: 1940

Year ordained: 1965

Assignments 

  • Our Lady of the Lake, Lake Arthur
  • St. Joseph, Elton
  • Our Lady Queen of Peace, Lafayette
  • Our Lady of the Assumption, Carencro
  • St. Martin de Porres, Scott
  • Lake Charles Diocese

Status: removed, 1987; resigned, 1987; deceased, 2017

Year born: 1929

Year ordained: 1962

Assignments

  • St. Henry, Lake Charles
  • Our Lady Help of Christians, Jennings
  • St. Joseph, Evangeline
  • St. Thomas More, Eunice
  • St. Theresa of the Child Jesus, Duson
  • Charity Hospital, Lafayette

Status: removed, 1983; resigned, 1983; deceased, 1994

Richard Rieboldt

Year born: 1945

Year ordained: 1975

Assignments 

  • Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Lafayette
  • Our Lady of Fatima, Lafayette
  • St. Bernard, Breaux Bridge
  • St. Michael the Archangel, Crowley
  • St. Jules, Lafayette
  • St. John the Baptist, Lyons Point

Status: resigned, 1985; removed 1989

Year born: 1950

Year ordained: 1976

Assignments 

  • St. Peter, New Iberia
  • St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Abbeville
  • St. Genevieve, Lafayette
  • St. Peter, New Iberia
  • St. Joseph, Iota
  • St. Jules, Petit Mamou
  • Sacred Heart of Jesus, Broussard
  • St. Edmond, Lafayette
  • St. Patrick, Lafayette
  • St. Mary Mother of the Church, Lafayette
  • St. Leo the Great, Lafayette

Status: removed, 2018

Year born: 1955

Year ordained: 1982

Assignments

  • St. Anthony of Padua, Eunice
  • St. Anne, Youngsville
  • St. Genevieve, Lafayette
  • St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette

Status: removed, 2018

Year born: 1924

Year ordained: 1950

Assignments

  • St. Joseph, Iota
  • Our Lady Queen of Heaven, Lake Charles
  • St. Anne, Youngsville
  • Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Bosco (Mire)
  • Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Chataignier
  • Our Lady of Queen of Heaven, Lake Charles
  • St. John Berchmans, Cankton
  • Our Lady of the Lake, Lake Arthur
  • St. Raphael, Iowa

Status: retired, 1986; removed 2002

Year born: 1910

Year ordained: 1934

Assignments

  • St. Julien Chapel, Chataignier
  • St. Joseph, Ville Platte and Little Flower, Pins Clairs
  • St. Mary, Port Barre
  • Holy Trinity, Washington

Status: deceased, 1977

Accordion Contenta

Year born: 1912

Year ordained: 1937

Assignments

  • St. Genevieve, Lafayette
  • Lake Arthur
  • Evangeline
  • Cameron (Creole?)
  • St. John the Evangelist, Melville
  • Chaplain, U.S. Army
  • St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette
  • Our Lady Queen of Heaven, Lake Charles
  • Our Lady of Mercy, Opelousas

Status: deceased, 1970

Year born: 1898

Year ordained: 1924

Assignments 

  • Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Lake Charles
  • Sacred Heart of Jesus, Creole
  • St. John the Evangelist, Mermentau

Status: resigned, 1933; deceased, 1960

Rosaire Veilleux

Year born: 1930

Year ordained: 1958

Assignments

  • St. Anne, Youngsville
  • Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Church Point
  • St. Peter, Carencro
  • St. Genevieve, Lafayette St. John Vianney, Bell City

Status: resigned, 1973; deceased, 1986

Year born: 1931

Year ordained: 1957

Assignments

  • Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, Kaplan
  • St. Anthony of Padua, Eunice
  • Our Lady of Fatima, Lafayette
  • St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville
  • St. Jules, Lafayette
  • St. Michael the Archangel, Crowley
  • St. Edward, Richard
  • St. Leo IV, Roberts Cove
  • St. Joseph, Iota
  • St. John the Baptist, Lyons Point
  • St. Joseph, Milton
  • Little Flower, Mobile, Alabama

Status: retired, 1995; deceased, 1996

Year born: 1920

Year ordained: 1977

Assignments

  • St Peter, Carencro

Status: resigned, 1984; deceased, 1996

Year born: 1927

Year ordained: 1977

Assignments 

  • St John the Evangelist, Mermentau

Status: resigned, 1990

Year born: 1926

Year ordained: 1977

Assignments

  • St Nicholas, Lydia

Status: deceased, 2006

Year born: 1948 

Year ordained: 1983

Assignments 

  • St Genevieve, Lafayette
  • Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina

Status: left, 1986; removed 2002

All Consultations are FREE and Confidential

Contact Us - Questions
First
Last
Were you or someone you know sexually abused?

We are sorry, we exclusively handle cases of sexual abuse.

Lo sentimos, manejamos exclusivamente casos de abuso sexual.

* REQUIRED INFORMATION