Times-Picayune, 3 TV stations seek unsealing of records on accused predator priest

NEW ORLEANS (LA)
NOLA.com

March 9, 2020

By Ramon Antonio Vargas

The Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate and the city’s three leading television news outlets filed a motion Monday asking a judge to publicly release court records detailing the Archdiocese of New Orleans’ handling of a retired priest who stands accused of being a serial child molester.

Attorneys for an alleged victim suing both the priest, Lawrence Hecker, and the archdiocese already have the documents in question, but the archdiocese has claimed the records are confidential and subject to a protective order preventing their release.

The media outlets’ motion argues that Orleans Parish Civil District Court Judge Nakisha Ervin-Knott should release the documents because they contain information that community members could use to protect themselves.

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