Overview
- Mouton died Feb. 5 at a hospital in Jefferson, Louisiana, with his son Todd confirming cancer as the cause.
- Hired by the Lafayette Diocese in 1984, he defended priest Gilbert Gauthe, who admitted to sexually abusing dozens of children and later received a 20-year sentence, serving about 10 years.
- In 1985 he co-wrote a confidential 92-page report with Fr. Thomas Doyle and Fr. Michael Peterson that warned church leaders of a national abuse crisis and massive legal exposure, but bishops largely ignored it.
- His confrontation with church authorities took a steep personal toll, including alcoholism, a shuttered law practice, divorce, a bipolar diagnosis, and a move to France.
- Mouton’s role was later credited by journalists for its early foresight, and he authored books including Pamplona (2002) and the novel In God’s House (2012).