Gilbert Gauthe is an American former

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

priest who served in the Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana from 1972 to 1983. In 1984, Gauthe became the first Catholic priest in the United States to face a widely publicized criminal trial for

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in Human sexual activity, sexual activit ...

. In 1974, Bishop Frey assigned Gauthe as a Boy Scout chaplain, even though Frey had heard allegations of Gauthe molesting altar boys. In 1976, the diocese sent him away for therapy for seven months. By 1983, the diocese was receiving allegations of

sexual misconduct Sexual misconduct is misconduct of a sexual nature which exists on a spectrum that may include a broad range of sexual behaviors considered unwelcome. This includes conduct considered inappropriate on an individual or societal basis of morality, ...

by Gauthe from parishioners. In October 1984, Gauthe was charged with multiple counts of aggravated crimes against nature, committing sexually immoral acts with minors, aggravated rape (sodomizing a boy under the age of 12) and crimes of pornography involving juveniles, through pornographic photo sessions. He pleaded guilty by reason of

insanity Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors caused by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to other ...

. In October 1985, Gauthe accepted a

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, pleading guilty to child pornography, crime against nature, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison. The diocese had settled nine lawsuits by sexual abuse victims for $4.2 million by 1985. The diocese settled with the victims for more than $20 million in lawsuits involving Gauthe. Gauthe admitted to sexually abusing 37 children and accepted a

in which he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was released in 1995 after serving 10 years of his sentence, then moved to

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, where he was later charged with sexually abusing a 3-year-old boy. He was sentenced to probation in 1997 after pleading guilty to abusing the child. Gaile was later jailed in Galveston County between 2008 and 2010 for violating the Texas sex offender registry requirements. Gauthe's crimes were the basis for the 1990

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TV film ''

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''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gauthe, Gilbert Living people 1945 births 20th-century American Roman Catholic priests American Catholic priests convicted of child sexual abuse American people convicted of child pornography offenses American prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Louisiana Prisoners and detainees of Texas