Father David Primeaux
Diocese of Lafayette
Ordained: 1976
Resigned: 1985
Died: 2012
Assigned as follows:
- Sts. Peter and Paul (Scott, LA)
- Our Lady of Fatima (Lafayette
- Chancery (Lafayette, LA)
- Sacred Heart of Jesus (Broussard, LA)
- Our Lady of Wisdom (Lafayette, LA)
- St. Joseph (Milton, LA)
- St. Benedict (Covington, LA)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Fr. David Primeaux:
Fr. David Primeaux was ordained a priest in 1976, who served in multiple parishes in the Diocese of Lafayette. According to media reports, in 1991, the son of a former lay employee at St. Joseph filed a lawsuit against the priest and the Diocese of Lafayette. The suit alleges that Fr. Primeaux, then pastor at St. Joseph, molested the boy in the early 1980s when he was between 12 and 13 years old. According to the suit, Fr. Primeaux would invite young boys on hunting, fishing, and sailing trips that required them to stay overnight at his home so that they could get an early start. Once he had his victim isolated, he would abuse them.
According to media reports, church officials referred Fr. Primeaux to psychological counseling in 1980. During a 1984 psychological evaluation conducted by Dr. Edward Shwery, Fr. Primeaux admitted to engaging in sexual misconduct with five students when he was a teacher at St. Benedict in Covington, LA. During another session with Dr. Shwery, Fr. Primeaux admitted to having sexual contact with seven altar boys, ages 13-16, when he was a parish priest in Milton, LA. By the time he left the priesthood in 1985, he had admitted to molesting 15 boys.
In 1985, church officials instructed Fr. Primeaux to attend an in-patient treatment program at the St. Luke Institute. He resigned from the priesthood in June 1985, two weeks before he was scheduled to begin treatment at St. Luke Institute. According to media accounts, the Diocese of Lafayette has settled several lawsuits filed by hisalleged victims.
Fr. Primeaux died by suicide in 2012 the day after his wife was confronted by one of his alleged victims.
In April 2019, he was publicly named on the Diocese of Lafayette’s disclosure list of “priests against whom credible allegations have been made regarding sexual abuse of a minor or vulnerable adult.”
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Louisiana, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Lafayette may now have legal options, but filing deadlines will apply so do not delay in reaching out to us. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse in Louisiana and nationwide. We can help.
Contact us at 888-283-9922 or [email protected] to discuss your options today.