Louisiana State Police investigators are on the campus of the Archdiocese of New Orleans seeking records and documents related to the archdiocese sexual abuse crisis.
WWL TV's David Hammer says it is part of a growing probe into child sex abuse by priests and alleged cover ups all the way to the Vatican.
"This is a huge step in the criminal investigation of child sexual abuse by local Catholic priests and deacons," he reported.
A local judge signed the warrant after troopers presented what was deemed probable cause to believe laws have been broken.
Hammer says the goal is to find out, "who at the archdiocese knew about child molesting clergy, when they knew it and what they did about it."
He reports that the order seeks files that would identify every priest and deacon accused of molesting children while working in the archdiocese.
"As always, the archdiocese will continue to cooperate in all law enforcement investigations," an archdiocese spokesman told WWL TV.
Our partners at NOLA.com report that state troopers served a search warrant at the archdiocesan headquarters on Walmsley Avenue around 10 a.m. Thursday. A New Orleans judge granted that warrant earlier this week in connection with the prosecution into disgraced priest Lawrence Hecker. In 2023, Hekcer admitted to a WWL-TV reporter that he molested a teenaged boy in the 1970s. However, on Monday, a jury ruled that Hecker, 92, was mentally incompetent to stand trial. The judge issued the warrant shortly after incompetency ruling was made.
NOLA.com reports that investigators are seeking all church records related to sexual abuse committed by priests in the archdiocese. Our partners at WWL-TV report that investigators are also reportedly looking for communications between Archbishop Gregory Aymond and the Vatican.
This is a developing story.