A former priest, Mark Francis Ford, has been indicted in New Orleans on several charges of child rape and molestation. Authorities claim the abuse took place between 2006 and 2008. The victim was a disabled boy, aged 12 to 14 at the time, whom Ford met through a church program he helped start. According to the indictment, Ford used his role as a mentor to take advantage of the boy while he was grieving. Police arrested Ford in Indiana in September 2024, and he has been held in a New Orleans jail without bail since October.