Former Catholic priest in Louisiana accused in second child sex abuse case

A former Catholic priest in Louisiana is facing a second charge of molestation, authorities said.

>> Read more trending news

Patrick Wattigny, 55, was arrested Wednesday and charged with one count of molestation of a juvenile, according to St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office online booking records.

Wattigny was originally arrested in 2021 after being accused of sexually abusing a minor in 2013 while serving as a pastor of St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic Church in Slidell, NOLA.com reported. He was arrested at a home he owns in West Point, Georgia, on one count of molestation involving a 15-year-old boy, according to the website.

He has been free after posting bail of $150,000 and pleaded not guilty in March 2021. Wattigny is scheduled to go to trial in January, according to NOLA.com.

In August, a second victim contacted the sheriff’s office and accused Wattigny of sexually abusing him when he was an elementary student in a Covington, Louisiana, Catholic school, according to WVUE-TV. The accuser is now an adult, according to the television station.

“It is deeply disturbing when an individual in a position of authority uses that position to prey on the most defenseless of our population -- our children,” Sheriff Randy Smith said in a statement.

Wattigny served at St. Peter Catholic Church in Covington during the mid-1990s, WSDU-TV reported. From 2000 to 2013, he was pastor at St. Benilde Parish in Metairie and was chaplain at Archbishop Rummel High School, also in Metairie, according to the television station.

Wattigny was ordained in 1994, NOLA.com reported. He has been permanently removed from the ministry, according to the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

©2022 Cox Media Group