NEW ORLEANS (LA)
WWL Radio [New Orleans LA]
June 13, 2024
By Chris Miller
Prosecutors in New Orleans hope they can prove a 92-year-old retired Catholic priest is mentally competent to answer to charges he kidnapped and raped a teenage victim.
Lawrence Hecker is charged with first degree rape, aggravated kidnapping, and other crimes. But trial at Orleans Criminal District Court has been put off while prosectors and the defense wrangles over whether the 92-year-old defendant can even stand trial.
“The state cannot force a criminal defendant to trial if he is incompetent, which means he cannot assist his counsel with his defense or understand the nature of the proceedings against him,” said Loyola Law Professor Dane Ciolino.
Ciolino said memory loss and other factors of aging could make it hard to prosecute
“It’s certainly possible he may never be confident enough to go to trial,” Ciolino said.
The Orleans District Attorney’s office secured an indictment that charges Hecker with aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping, and other charges dating back to an incident in the 1970s.