A former pastor and chaplain accused of priest sex abuse while he worked at a Catholic high school has reportedly been extradited from his home in Georgia to Louisiana.

Nola.com reports that Patrick Wattigny was accused of sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy and sending inappropriate texts to another while at St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic Church and Pope John Paul II High School located in Slidell, La. The Catholic sex abuse allegedly occurred between 2013 and 2015 while he was working at Archbishop Rummel High School.

According to local CBS affiliate WWL, Wattigny traveled from Louisiana to his home in Georgia that is currently undergoing foreclosure. He was arrested by police from West Point, Ga. who had been informed of Wattigny’s whereabouts.

“Mr. Wattigny stated that he knew he had warrants in Louisiana but that he did not know that we would catch him,” the police report said at the time of his arrest.

Priest Confesses to Abuse

According to Nola reporters, Wattigny was not arrested until three weeks after he admitted to sexually abusing the minor. Reportedly, the priest confessed to church officials on Oct. 1, 2020, at which point they notified law enforcement.

However, it appears that Wattigny engaged in other problematic behaviors in his roles with the church and school that were reported to the archdiocese months before.

Not the First Concerning Incident

Indeed, the charges of sex abuse of the student were not the first time Wattigny had been flagged for concerning behavior. Nola reports that, in February of this year, the mother of a John Paul II student notified the archdiocese that Wattigny, a former president of the school, had sent a huge number of inappropriate texts to her son. Reportedly, the texts took up ninety printed pages.

In response, church officials reportedly ordered Wattigny to stop contacting the student; however, after a break, the priest started texting the student again. He reportedly resigned at the school under pressure from the archdiocese.

Students Report Grooming Efforts

Both the student who alleges Wattigny sexually abused him and the student who received text messages say that the priest engaged in “grooming” behaviors with them, according to the Catholic News Agency. Reportedly, Wattigny would text students, offer to buy them meals, and give them extra attention.

“This man preyed on kids who were at risk, sons who were in need of strong, strong male figures in their lives, and that’s what he gave them,” an attorney representing one of the students told reporters.

Priest Attends Spiritual Retreat

According to Nola, after the first reported incidence of priest sex abuse, Wattigny was sent to a month-long spiritual retreat and psychological evaluation by the archdiocese. Reportedly, during the retreat, the priest confessed to sexually abusing another student in 2013. It was this confession that led to his recent arrest.

The Catholic News Agency reports that Wattigny was not removed from his role in the church until recently. In addition, in letters to parents of John Paul II High School students, the principal said that he and other school officials were unaware of Wattigny’s actions until recently.

Nola reports that Wattigny was ordained a priest in 1994. He spent six years at churches in Covington and Kenner, La. before becoming chaplain at Rummel High School from 2000 to 2013.

Archdiocese Claims No Priest Sex Abuse

Nola reports that, prior to this and other priests who have recently been accused of abuse, the archdiocese maintained that there were no cases of clergy sex abuse or clergy sexual assault in New Orleans since 2002.

According to the Catholic News Agency, the archdiocese’ failure to report Wattigny’s sexual text messages with the student to school officials is a violation of church policies; however, the archdiocese reportedly claims that the texts were not sexual in nature.

Other New Orleans Priests Accused of Sexual Transgressions

Wattigny was reportedly removed from the ministry on the same day as another priest, Travis Clark, who was accused of filming himself having sex with two women on the altar of the St. Peter and Paul church in view of the public.

“Both of these situations are very troubling to me,” reportedly said the archbishop in a statement. “When a priest does not live out his vocation faithfully he suffers consequences and I must notify the parishioners, school families, and public in general.”

The Catholic News Agency reports that the archdiocese is seeking for all living priests who have engaged in sexual abuse to be laicized, or removed from the clerical state. Seventy-two priests in the Archdiocese of New Orleans were named in the 2018 Clergy Abuse Report.

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.