Ex-Catholic priest exploited family deaths to abuse disabled boy, police allege

"A man working as a Roman Catholic priest in New Orleans positioned himself as a mentor to a young disabled boy grieving two family deaths and then exploited the proximity to abuse him for years, police allege. Those details are contained in criminal court records generated by the arrest of Mark Francis Ford in Indiana in September as well as his subsequent transfer to New Orleans's jail, a process which was completed late on Tuesday."

"Ford, 64, made an initial court appearance on Wednesday as he became the latest figure to come under scrutiny during the New Orleans Catholic church's long standing clergy molestation scandal. A magistrate commissioner temporarily ordered Ford held without bail. Ford is one of several men who have worked as Catholic clergymen in New Orleans to have been arrested by authorities in connection with child sexual abuse allegations both before and after the city's archdiocese filed for federal bankruptcy protection in 2020."

"The New Orleans archdiocese has agreed to pay at least $230m to collectively settle with abuse survivors whose claims are tied up in the bankruptcy. Those survivors have until 29 October to vote on whether or not to approve the settlement. According to a sworn statement from one of the city's sex crimes detectives, the accuser at the center of Ford's case reported being about 10 when he met the man known to him as Father Mark in 2004."

Mark Francis Ford, 64, allegedly exploited a mentorship role to sexually abuse a disabled boy over several years after befriending him when the boy was about 10 and grieving family deaths. Ford co-founded God's Special Children and visited the child's home to play video games and give guitar lessons while serving as a priest from 1992 to 2007. Authorities arrested Ford in Indiana in September and transferred him to New Orleans, where he appeared in court and was ordered held without bail. The case is tied to a broader New Orleans clergy molestation scandal and the archdiocese's 2020 bankruptcy and proposed $230m settlement.

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