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	DA Broadens Priest-Sex Investigation By Bruce Nolan Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA) August 17, 1995 The state's interest in the possibility of complaints against other priests indicates Greenburg wants to evaluate for himself how the diocese has handled complaints of sexual misconduct against clergy other than Melancon, if there are any. A state prosecutor investigating whether a Houma priest for years molested an altar boy has widened his interest beyond the accused priest, and briefly threatened to have Catholic Bishop Michael Jarrell held in contempt of court unless he answered questions about whether there were other sex abuse allegations in the diocese. District Attorney Doug Greenburg leveled the threat when the bishop declined to say whether church authorities are investigating any other complaints of sexual abuse against priests in the Houma-Thibodaux diocese. During a sworn interview at the district attorney's office July 26, Jarrell refused to answer because the question went beyond the diocese's files on the Rev. Robert Melancon, 59, a Houma priest accused of aggravated rape. Greenburg apparently was prepared to have Jarrell held in contempt of court in Houma on Wednesday, but a confrontation was averted when the bishop filed court papers answering the question. Jarrell said the diocese had no inquiries under way into any allegations of sexual misconduct by other priests. The state's interest in the possibility of complaints against other priests indicates Greenburg wants to evaluate for himself how the diocese has handled complaints of sexual misconduct against clergy other than Melancon, if there are any. The question put to Jarrell last month referred to any other sex abuse inquiries that might be under way now. Greenburg has not asked to see files on past sex-abuse complaints against priests other than Melancon, if such files exist. Greenburg, who in 11 years has developed a reputation as an unusually aggressive prosecutor, was in court himself Wednesday when the matter came before 32nd Judicial District Judge Johnny Walker. However, he has refused to make any comment about the Melancon case or his broader intentions. Jarrell had declined to answer Greenburg's question on the advice of the diocese's attorney, said Louis Aguirre, a diocesan spokesman. The diocese has said it intends to cooperate with the state's investigation of Melancon, but the question about other complaints raised issues - for instance, privacy questions and the impact on other civil litigation - that Jarrell's advisers wanted time to sort out. However, Jarrell ultimately relented, to demonstrate that the diocese intends to cooperate and has nothing to hide, Aguirre said. At the same time, court documents indicate the diocese has hired former U.S. Attorney P. Raymond Lamonica of Baton Rouge to advise it on the criminal law aspects of the case. On Wednesday, Melancon, a priest for 23 years, was expected to enter a formal plea to the rape charge. Melancon has denied the charge, which carries a penalty of life in prison. Dressed in a black business suit and black necktie, he sat quietly near the back of the courtroom with the Rev. Albert Bergeron, a friend and the chancellor of the Houma-Thibodaux diocese. However, prosecutors told Walker the Melancon case has not been submitted to a grand jury and won't be for a month or more. The arraignment was rescheduled for October, and Melancon left quietly in the middle of the proceeding. In April, a 17-year-old youth allegedly told school counselors that Melancon performed acts of sodomy on him for years, beginning when he was 8 or 9. Melancon has been suspended with pay and is living at an undisclosed location.
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