Korey LaVergne, 37, jailed Friday evening on three counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile, according to officials
Authorities in south-west Louisiana recently arrested a Roman Catholic priest on accusations of behaving indecently with a child, igniting a new scandal in the diocese where the US church’s reckoning with clergy abuse began – an institution that just disclosed it could lose up to $162m over pending litigation.
Korey LaVergne was jailed Friday evening on three counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile, according to Acadia parish sheriff KP Gibson, whose agency arrested the priest. LaVergne had presided over mass at St Edward church in Richard – where the Lafayette diocese had assigned him as pastor – hours before he was booked into the Acadia lockup.
Records showed LaVergne made bail in the amount of $15,000 less than 90 minutes after he was jailed to secure his release from custody pending the outcome of the case.
Details about the allegations against LaVergne weren’t immediately available, with Gibson saying on Saturday that his office intended to issue a news release later “as the investigation allows”. A spokesperson for the Lafayette diocese said LaVergne’s arrest occurred after a report of “possible misconduct by [the] cleric” but didn’t elaborate.
