Many Catholic Cleric Predator Names Seem to Be Missing from the New Orleans Archdiocese’s list of Credibly Accused of Sexual Abuse

We at Horowitz Law have looked at over 100 church-produced lists of credibly accused child molesting Catholic clerics. The New Orleans Archdiocese is the worst we've seen. It does include some helpful details, such as the accused's date of birth, ordination date, an estimated timeframe of abuse, the date the allegation was received, the date of removal from ministry, and assignments. But the number of proven and alleged predators who don't appear but should appear on New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond's list is stunning. 

A quick example: the authoritative online archive of the Catholic church's abuse lists seven reportedly abusive nuns in the New Orleans Archdiocese. But Aymond doesn't list any of them on his website. These include:

• Sr. Alvin Marie Hagan
• Sr. Gertrude Marie Hagan
• Sister Ladet
• Sister Marie Claudine
• Sister Martin Marie
• Sister Mary Omer Obermark 
• Sister Stephen Rose.

We'll address more of this in future blogs, but let's just start with some of the 22 publicly accused abusive religious order clerics who are listed on BishopAccountability.org but NOT on the New Orleans Archdiocese's list.

They include:

• Fr. Richard Raphael Archer 
• Br. Everard J. Booth 
• Br. Joseph Botto 
• Br. Dave Brueschere 
• Br. John L. Malachy Cosgrove 
• Fr. Edward D. DeRussy 
• Fr. Joseph deWater 
• Fr. Donald J. Dickerson 
• Fr. Bernardine George Dyer 
• Fr. Luis J. Fernandez 
• Br. Robert Gandara 
• Br. Justin Guarise 
• Fr. Kenneth Hamilton 
• Fr. Gerald Hindman 
• Fr. Salvatore "Sam" Isgro 
• Br. Richard J. Langenstein
• Fr. James D. Loeffler 
• Br. Samuel F. Martinez 
• Br. Claude L. Ory 
• Br. Stanley Repucci 
• Fr. Elmo J. Rogero
• Fr. Norman Rogge 
• Fr. Anthony Tassin 

In fact, some of these clerics appear on SEVERAL church lists of credibly accused abusers, but not on the New Orleans one. Fr. Dyer, for instance, is on such lists in three dioceses in Texas, Illinois, and Virginia. He worked in the Archdioceses of Washington DC, Chicago, San Francisco, and New Orleans and the Dioceses of Providence, Montreal, Charleston, St. Petersburg, Brownsville, Galveston, Oakland, San Diego, Knoxville, Birmingham, and Belgium.

Like Fr. Dyer, Fr. Norman Rogge also appears on three 'credibly accused' lists: the Mobile archdiocese's, the Alexandria Diocese's, and the Jesuits' Central and Southern Province's. He was in New Orleans twice, in the late 1980s and again in the 2000s. But for some inexplicable reason, Aymond ignores this notorious predator priest. Fr. Rogge pleaded guilty in Florida to a child sex charge, then charged again in Florida in 1985 to another child sex charge, and sued for abuse.

Others do not appear on church predator lists, but evidence suggests they are clearly 'credibly accused.' They include:

• Br. Richard J. Langenstein pleaded 'no contest' to a criminal charge of indecent behavior with a juvenile.
• Br. Robert Gandara was sued and went to jail, followed by probation, after pleading 'no contest' to charges of performing sex acts on a teen.
• Fr. Salvatore "Sam" Isgro was accused in a 2018 lawsuit of raping a 17-year-old boy after rendering him dizzy and disoriented, possibly with chloroform.
• Br. Sam Repucci faced a 2021 civil abuse lawsuit alleging child sexual abuse at a Catholic summer camp.
• Fr. Kenneth Hamilton sued for alleged abuse, and that case was settled.
• Fr. Luis J. Fernandez faced two accusers, one of whom was a prep school student.

In all fairness, with one or more of these accused abusers, a case might be made that there's not enough information to warrant calling them 'credibly accused.' But look at the bigger picture, in this one archdiocese alone, there are at least 22 publicly accused men and seven publicly accused women left off the church's official 'accused' list. We at Horowitz Law have never seen so many omissions. How on earth does Archbishop Aymond explain this?

Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims of sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. The Archdiocese of New Orleans filed for federal bankruptcy protection in April 2020. Our lawyers are now offering free legal consultations to discuss your legal options as a survivor of sexual abuse by priests and other employees of the New Orleans Archdiocese. Very strict filing deadlines will soon be set by the Bankruptcy Court. Most victims of abuse will never be able to recover damages if they miss this deadline, so please contact us to discuss your case today. Call us at 844-291-9022.