Child Rapist Priest Dies Days After Getting Life Sentence

New Orleans’ NBC affiliate reports:

A former New Orleans priest who pleaded guilty to rape and kidnapping has died at 93, according to his attorney, Bobby Hjortsberg. Lawrence Hecker was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday, Dec. 18, after pleading guilty to aggravated kidnapping, aggravated crime against nature, first-degree rape, and theft. He died at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center on Dec. 26. A doctor confirmed before the trial that Hecker had Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, but Hecker was found competent to stand trial, according to his attorney.

Read the full article. Last week I wrote “at 93, his life sentence will be brief.” At his sentencing, one of Hecker’s victims said that he was choked unconscious before being raped. 

Retired New Orleans priest sentenced to life in prison for rape dies in jail, attorney says https://t.co/pa3f7zQGW9

— NOLA.com (@NOLAnews) December 27, 2024

Admitted child rapist and retired priest Lawrence Hecker dies aged 93, a little more than a week after beginning life sentence. https://t.co/igmkf9wcRV

— SNAP Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (@SNAPNetwork) December 27, 2024