A Slidell-area priest is arrested in Georgia after being accused of sexually abusing a minor.
“An investigation into claims Patrick Wattigny had sexually abused a minor in 2013 while serving as pastor of St. Luke’s Church in Slidell, culminated Thursday with the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office issuing warrants for his arrests on four counts of Molestation of a Juvenile. All four counts are in connection with the same victim,” according to a St Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office press release.
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Investigators say Wattigny started ‘grooming’ the 15-year-old victim through text messages and phone calls. They say Wattigny allegedly had four different sexual encounters with the victim. Some of those encounters happened inside the church rectory.
“It is deeply disturbing when an individual in a position of authority uses that position to prey on the most defenseless of our population – our children,” St. Tammany Parish Sheriff, Randy Smith said.
Troup County police arrested Wattigny Thursday night at a home in West Point, Georgia and booked in the county jail where he is awaiting extradition to St. Tammany Parish. This is an ongoing investigation.
New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond removed Wattigny from the ministry after he allegedly admitted the abuse to Aymond back on October 1st.
In a statement released Friday, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of New Orleans said, “We are aware of the arrest of Patrick Wattigny on charges of molestation of a juvenile. Our prayers are with the victim of this abuse. We have cooperated with the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office investigation and pledge our continued cooperation as this moves forward.”
Wattigny’s abuse allegations came out around the same time another St. Tammany Parish priest, Travis Clark, was allegedly caught video recording himself having sex with two women on the altar at his church, Sts. Peter and Paul in Pearl River.
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Wattigny was ordained in 1994 and served as Chaplain at Archbishop Rummel High School in Metairie and then Pope John Paul II High School where the abuse allegations came out and was replaced by Clark. Prior to that, Wattigny served at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Kenner, St. Peter in Covington, and at Visitation of Our Lady in Marrero. Wattigny was also a pastor at St. Benilde in Metairie from 2000 to 2013 before being named pastor at St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic Church.
