NEW ORLEANS -- The FBI has opened a widening investigation into sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in New Orleans going back decades, which is a rare federal foray into such cases looking specifically at whether priests took children across state lines to molest them, officials and others familiar with the inquiry told reporters.
More than a dozen alleged abuse victims have been interviewed this year as part of the probe that's exploring -- among other charges -- whether predator priests can be prosecuted under the Mann Act, a more than century-old anti-sex trafficking law that prohibits taking anyone across state lines for illicit sex.
Some of the New Orleans cases under review allege abuse by clergy during trips to Mississippi camps or amusement parks in Texas and Florida. And while some claims are decades old, Mann Act violations notably have no statute of limitations.
"It's been a long road and just the fact that someone this high up believes us means the world to us," said a former altar boy who alleged his assailant took him on trips to Colorado and Florida and abused him beginning in the 1970s when he was in the fifth grade. The Associated Press generally does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted.
The FBI declined to comment, as did the Louisiana State Police, which is assisting in the inquiry. The Archdiocese of New Orleans declined to discuss the federal investigation.
"I'd prefer not to pursue this conversation," Archbishop Gregory Aymond told reporters.
The probe could deepen the legal peril for the archdiocese, as it reels from a bankruptcy brought on by a flood of sex abuse lawsuits and allegations that church leaders turned a blind eye to generations of predator priests.
Federal investigators are now considering whether to seek access to thousands of secret church documents produced by lawsuits and shielded by a sweeping confidentiality order in the bankruptcy, according to those familiar with the probe. Those records are said to document years of abuse claims, interviews with accused clergy and a pattern of church leaders transferring problem priests without reporting their crimes to law enforcement.
"This is actually a big deal, and it should be heartening to victims," said Marci Hamilton, a University of Pennsylvania professor and chief executive of Child USA, a think tank focused on preventing child abuse. "The FBI has rarely become involved in the clergy sex abuse scandals. They've dragged their feet around the country with respect to the Catholic Church."
Among the priests under federal scrutiny in New Orleans is Lawrence Hecker, a 90-year-old removed from the ministry in 2002 after accusations he abused "countless children." Hecker is accused of abusing children decades ago on out-of-state trips, and other claims against him range from fondling to rape.
Hundreds of records currently under the confidentiality order "will reveal in no uncertain terms that the last four archbishops of New Orleans knew that Lawrence Hecker was a serial child predator," Richard Trahant, an attorney for Hecker's alleged victims, wrote in a court filing.
FILE - This Dec. 1, 2012 file photo shows a silhouette of a crucifix and a stained glass window inside a Catholic Church in New Orleans. The FBI has opened a widening investigation into sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in New Orleans going back decades, a rare federal foray into such cases looking specifically at whether priests took children across state lines to molest them, officials and others familiar with the inquiry told The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
FILE - Archbishop Gregory Aymond conducts the procession to lead a live streamed Easter Mass in St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans, Sunday, April 12, 2020. The FBI has opened a widening investigation into Roman Catholic sex abuse in New Orleans, looking specifically at whether priests took children across state lines to molest them. The FBI declined to comment, as did the Louisiana State Police, which is assisting in the inquiry. The Archdiocese of New Orleans declined to discuss the federal investigation. “I’d prefer not to pursue this conversation,” Aymond told AP. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)