59-year-old Stephen Sauer used to serve as pastor of Immaculate Conception Jesuit Church in New Orleans from 2008-2012; last year, he requested to leave the order entirely for reasons unknown. Since 2017, he was the executive director of a non-profit group called Arc of Greater New Orleans (ArcGNO), which works to help “people with intellectual and developmental disabilities such as Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and autism.” It’s just an incredible organization and you can imagine the staff members are the kinds of selfless, giving people who want to make life better for those around them.
That’s why it came as a shock when Sauer was arrested on December 13.
According to court documents, Sauer had sent his computer’s hard drive to a company based in New York for repairs. Nothing weird about that. But when the technicians looked at the hard drive, they discovered hundreds of pictures depicting sexual assault… and contacted the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office.