Survivors of Catholic clergy abuse in Louisiana can still be heard.
Salim Beasley is reviewing claims connected to St. Joseph and Our Lady of Victory in Loreauville, and claims against the Catholic Church across Louisiana. The firm represents hundreds of survivors of church abuse, and reviews each claim privately and at no cost.
Salim Beasley is reviewing claims connected to St. Joseph and Our Lady of Victory in Loreauville, and claims against the Catholic Church across Louisiana. The firm represents hundreds of survivors of church abuse, and reviews each claim privately and at no cost.
- By Catholic clergy, staff or volunteers
- That happened in Louisiana
- Including abuse from decades ago
- Of church-abuse survivors represented
- Hundreds
- Of injury law practice in Louisiana
- 50+ yrs
- Unless we win
- $0
Recognition and appointments
- America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators®
- 100 Top Trial Lawyers since 2007
- Plaintiffs’ steering committees, Plavix & Transvaginal Mesh MDLs
- Lead co-counsel, JUUL docket
- $26B national opioid settlement negotiating committee
- Counsel to eight state attorneys general
Loreauville
In October 2026 the Diocese of Lafayette placed Rev. Barry Crochet, pastor of St. Joseph and Our Lady of Victory churches in Loreauville, on administrative leave over allegations of misconduct dating back many years. The diocese reported them to civil authorities, has not said what they involve, and says he is presumed innocent.
The window to file
Louisiana reopened claims of childhood sexual abuse that had been time-barred, however long ago the abuse happened. The Louisiana Supreme Court upheld the law in 2024, and the window currently runs to June 14, 2027.
The institution, not only the abuser
A claim can reach the diocese, parish, school or religious order that assigned, supervised or protected the abuser, including after the abuser has died.
Many survivors have kept what happened to themselves for decades. Salim Beasley helps them tell their stories, and holds abusers and those who covered for them accountable.
The review is free and confidential, and it takes place somewhere safe, at the survivor’s own pace. There is no fee unless the firm recovers compensation.
“My case took a long time but they never lost compassion and kept me informed all along the way.”
Abuse in the Church takes more than one form.
Many survivors don’t come forward because what happened doesn’t match what they think a claim looks like.
Rape, oral sex, penetration
Abuse by a priest is the clearest case.
Rape, forced oral sex, and penetration of any kind, including with fingers or an object, can all be part of a claim. A claim doesn’t depend on the priest ever having been arrested, charged or convicted, or on the priest still being alive.
The review asks for the abuser’s name, when and where it happened, and anyone who saw it or was told at the time.
Every claim depends on its facts. A description here is not a promise that a particular claim qualifies.
What a claim can seek
- Therapy, past and future
- Pain & suffering
- Punitive damages against the institution
Answer a few questions
The online review takes a few minutes. It is free, confidential, and comes with no obligation.
Talk with our team
Someone from our team follows up to listen, explain the options and answer questions. Nothing needs to be gathered to start.
We pursue accountability
If the claim qualifies, our attorneys investigate, gather the evidence and take the case as far as it needs to go.
Abuse claims first, then selected results from salim-beasley.com. None of the dollar results is an abuse case.
- Church-abuse survivors represented
- Hundreds
- Global Zyprexa settlement
- $2.8B
- Global JUUL settlement
- $660M
- Defective products
- $10M
- Defective products
- $7M
- Defective products
- $5M
Results are from salim-beasley.com. Global settlements resolved many claims and were not won by one firm alone. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome; every case depends on its own facts.
Salim Beasley is a Louisiana firm with a national mass tort practice, built over fifty years of cases against some of the most powerful companies in the country.
Robert L. Salim
Founding Partner · Mass Torts
Practicing since 1976. Represents hundreds of survivors of church sexual abuse. Appointed to the plaintiffs’ steering committees in the Plavix and Transvaginal Mesh MDLs, and has represented eight state attorneys general.
America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators®
Barrett Beasley
Founding Partner · Pharmaceutical & Products
Lead co-counsel for the JUUL docket. Practices products liability and pharmaceutical litigation in state and federal courts and on appeal. Licensed in Louisiana and California.
Lisa Causey-Streete
Partner · Mass Torts
Born and raised in Natchitoches. Has focused on mass tort litigation with the firm since 2012, after ten years in defense practice in Texas, and holds a master’s degree in health law.
Stacie Lambert deBlieux
Partner · Complex Litigation
Former Section Chief of Complex Litigation at the Louisiana Department of Justice. Headed the State’s lawsuit against opioid manufacturers, and sat on the 13-state committee that negotiated the $26 billion national opioid settlement.
“I would guarantee you that for every claim that’s been brought, there are three claims out there that have never been brought.”
Is it too late if it happened decades ago?
Often not. Louisiana reopened claims of childhood sexual abuse that had been time-barred, however long ago the abuse happened, and the window currently runs to June 14, 2027. Different rules apply to abuse that happened in adulthood. A case review is the reliable way to learn whether a claim is still open.
Does the abuser have to have been arrested or convicted?
No. A civil claim is separate from any criminal case. It can go forward whether or not the abuser was ever arrested, charged or convicted.
What if the abuser has died, or it was never reported?
A claim can still be brought against the diocese, parish, school or order responsible, even after the abuser’s death. Many survivors never reported the abuse at the time. That is not, by itself, a reason not to ask.
Does it have to have been a priest?
No. Abuse by a nun, deacon, Catholic school teacher, or an employee or volunteer of a parish or diocese can be part of a claim. This review covers abuse connected to the Catholic Church in Louisiana.
Who can be held responsible?
The abuser, and the diocese, parish, school or religious order that assigned, supervised or protected them. A claim can also seek punitive damages to punish an institution that covered up abuse.
Will this stay confidential?
Yes. The case review is confidential, and information is never sold or shared. The team will explain how a filed claim protects a survivor’s privacy.
What does it cost?
Nothing up front. Salim Beasley works on contingency: no attorney fee unless the firm recovers compensation. The representation agreement explains the terms and how case expenses are handled.
These claims are brought in Louisiana. Salim Beasley handles them from its Natchitoches office, with a reach across the state.
Claims reviewed
- LoreauvilleSt. Joseph Church · Our Lady of Victory Church
- LafayetteDiocese of Lafayette
Our office
- Natchitoches1901 Texas Street, Natchitoches, LA 71457
Claims are reviewed for abuse anywhere in Louisiana. Where a survivor lives today doesn’t matter, and the review works the same from any state.
Free, confidential case review. No fee unless we win.