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A former Catholic priest in Louisiana has been sentenced to 25 years in jail after pleading responsible to drugging and molesting 17 males he had met in New Orleans’ French Quarter, in response to prosecutors.
Stephen Sauer, 61, admitted to concentrating on males who seemed to be “intoxicated, misplaced or in want of help,” in response to a information launch from the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office. He would then supply to assist the boys, however as a substitute drugged them and drove the unconscious victims to his dwelling in Metairie, roughly 7 miles west of the district, prosecutors stated.
Sauer pleaded responsible to 13 counts of sexual battery, 9 counts of third-degree rape, 17 counts of video voyeurism, in addition to 16 misdemeanor prices of drug possession, courtroom data present. On Friday, District Choose Shayna Beevers Morvant sentenced Sauer to a complete of 25 years in jail and ordered him to be registered as a intercourse offender for the remainder of his life, the DA’s workplace stated.
Most of the victims have been visiting New Orleans from out of state and have been “separated from pals or just misplaced” after they have been approached by Sauer, in response to the information launch. Sauer took images of his victims’ identification playing cards, which allowed detectives to determine a number of the victims, the information launch stated.
In some circumstances, Sauer put narcotics in his victims’ drinks whereas they have been at a bar or used an eyedropper to drug them with “sleep-inducing substances” after they’d already handed out, similar to zolpidem, in response to the information launch.
Sauer would then drive victims to his dwelling, the place he used a smartphone to take photos of and file the unconscious males, prosecutors stated. He molested a number of the males and pleasured himself earlier than driving his victims again to their lodges or different areas the next morning, in response to the discharge.
An investigation led by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Workplace discovered Sauer shared or traded the photographs with different folks on-line or by way of electronic mail, prosecutors stated. The investigation was launched in June 2021 after Sauer despatched a pc laborious drive to a New York restore firm, the place a knowledge restoration technician discovered tons of of the photographs and notified regulation enforcement, the discharge stated.
In line with the discharge, detectives imagine that greater than 50 of Sauer’s victims stay unidentified, because the crimes occurred over a two-year interval from 2019 to 2021.
has reached out to Sauer’s legal professional, Mike Ciaccio, for remark.
“We on the province realized by means of media reviews that Mr. Sauer pled responsible to prices involving grownup males. We encourage any one that has been harmed to inform regulation enforcement,” Therese Fink Meyerhoff with the Jesuits USA Central and Southern Province informed , whereas confirming that Sauer was a priest.
The DA’s workplace stated Sauer’s earlier occupation as a Catholic priest was not related to the case itself.
