A former Louisiana priest was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Friday after pleading guilty to drugging and assaulting 17 men he met in the French Quarter as a priest.
Stephen Sauer, 61, of Metairie, confessed that he targeted males who appeared disoriented or intoxicated. Then, as he offered them help, he would drug them, sometimes slipping narcotics into their beverages at taverns.
Former Louisiana Priest Receives 25-Year Sentence
According to a press release from Jefferson Parish District Attorney Paul D. Connick, Jr., the former Catholic priest also used an eyedropper to administer sleep-inducing substances to men who had become intoxicated.
Per Fox News, Sauer brought the incapacitated victims to his residence, where he filmed or photographed them while they were unconscious. He confessed to molesting some men and drove them to their lodgings or other locations the following morning.
The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office's investigators discovered that Sauer shared the images on a website and occasionally traded images via email. According to the district attorney's office, many of Sauer's victims were out-of-state, separated from their companions, or disoriented when he accosted them.
All of the incidents with which Sauer was charged and connected occurred between 2019 and 2021. According to court documents, Sauer was investigated in June 2021 after he sent a computer hard drive to a New York electronics repair company. A data recovery specialist discovered hundreds of sexually explicit images.
The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office was notified by the New York law enforcement officials who determined that the images were captured in Louisiana, as per CBS42.
Judge Orders Suspect to Register as Sexual Offender
Numerous victims were identified by detectives using photographs of their driver's licenses or other forms of identification taken by Sauer. Detectives believe that over fifty victims remain unidentified.
Sauer was sentenced on Friday after pleading guilty to 13 counts of sexual battery, nine counts of third-degree rape, 17 counts of video voyeurism, and 16 misdemeanor counts of unlawfully possessing narcotics and drug paraphernalia.
Judge Shayna Beevers Morvant ordered Sauer to register as a sexual offender, and prohibited him from communicating with 12 victims.
During its investigation, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office discovered that Sauer spread the images via a website or email.
Sauer was sentenced on Friday after pleading guilty to 13 counts of sexual battery, nine counts of third-degree rape, 17 counts of video voyeurism, and 16 misdemeanor counts of unlawfully possessing narcotics and drug paraphernalia.
Per Fox8, Connick stated that many victims were identified by police because Sauer photographed their driver's licenses or other forms of identification.
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