Louisiana: An ex-Catholic priest in Louisiana who admitted to drugging and molesting 17 men he met in a well-known tourist area of New Orleans was given a 25-year prison term, according to the prosecutor.

According to Paul D. Connick Jr., the district attorney for Jefferson Parish, WVUE-TV reported that Stephen Sauer, 61, targeted individuals in New Orleans' French Quarter who appeared intoxicated, lost, or in need of assistance.

According to Connick, the crimes took place between 2019 and 2021, and many of the victims were out-of-state tourists.

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After Sauer sent a computer to a New York-based electronics repair shop in 2021, the investigation got under way. A technician discovered thousands of pictures that appeared to show sexual assaults. The Jefferson Parish sheriff was informed after New York law enforcement officials determined the photos were taken in Metairie.

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According to the prosecutor, Sauer gave men sleeping pills after they passed out from drinking or put drugs in their drinks at bars. The perpetrator then took the victims to his house in the Metairie neighbourhood of New Orleans, where he took pictures or videos of the men and sexually assaulted some of them.

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During its investigation, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office discovered that Sauer sent the pictures to other people via email or a website.
After entering a guilty plea to 13 counts of sexual battery, nine counts of third-degree rape, 17 counts of video voyeurism, and 16 misdemeanour charges of drug possession and possession of drug paraphernalia, Sauer was sentenced on Friday.