Gilbert Gauthe is an

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former

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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 sexual activities with a child (whet ...

. Gauthe admitted to sexually abusing 37 children and accepted a

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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

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, 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. He was later jailed in

Galveston County Galveston County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas, located along the Gulf Coast adjacent to Galveston Bay. As of the 2020 census, the population was 350,682. The county was founded in 1838. The county seat is the City of Galveston, ...

between 2008 and 2010 for violating the Texas

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requirements. Gauthe's crimes inspired the 1990

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TV film ''

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''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gauthe, Gilbert Catholic priests convicted of child sexual abuse American priests American people convicted of child sexual abuse 1945 births Living people