Lawrence Hecker, the former Catholic priest who pleaded guilty earlier this month to raping an underage boy decades ago, has died, according to our partners at WWL-TV.
Hecker, 93, was sentenced to life in prison nine days ago.
After months of delays, Hecker's trial was all set to begin with jury selection on December 3, but before the proceedings began, he changed his plea to guilty as charged.
The charges included aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated crime against nature, and theft.
Hecker admitted to suffocating a teenage boy until he was unconscious, then raping him at a church in 1975.
Other victims had come forward over the years to accuse Hecker, saying at the time their allegations fell on deaf ears.
One victim told the court that Hecker offered to teach him wrestling moves, and turned the practice session into a violent sexual assault. He said when he reported Hecker's crimes to the church, he was told to get psychiatric evaluation for making up "fantasy" stories or face expulsion from school.
Another one of Hecker's victims testified that the priest molested him in the 1960s under the guise of a "hernia exam."
Hecker admitted to a WWL-TV news crew in 2023 that he had sex with underage boys, but claimed it was consensual. All of Hecker's victims were under the age of consent.
