Former Priest Faces Multiple Charges in Disturbing New Orleans Abuse Case
A former Roman Catholic priest has been formally indicted on child rape charges in New Orleans, nearly five months after his initial arrest, according to authorities. Mark Francis Ford, 64, faces nine counts including aggravated rape of a child, raping a person with a physical disability preventing resistance, molestation of a juvenile, indecent behavior with a minor, and kidnapping.
Allegations Spanning Years of Abuse
Prosecutors allege that Ford committed these offenses between 2006 and 2008, victimizing a boy who was between 12 and 14 years old at the time. The victim, who is on the autism spectrum and has a degenerative spinal condition requiring occasional wheelchair use, came forward to police in November 2024 after years of silence.
According to court documents, Ford positioned himself as a mentor to the boy while the child grieved the deaths of his grandmother and father. The former priest allegedly visited the boy at home to play video games and give guitar lessons, gradually exploiting this proximity to begin showing pornography and eventually sexually assaulting him on multiple occasions.
Connection to Church Program for Disabled Youth
Ford met the victim through God's Special Children, a church program for disabled youth that he co-founded while serving at New Orleans' St Joseph church. Police allege that Ford ignored the boy's pleas when he expressed discomfort with explicit content and told him his family would never believe him if he reported the abuse.
The victim, legally ruled to still be a minor despite having reached the age of majority, underwent two forensic interviews before police obtained an arrest warrant in early September. Authorities arrested Ford later that month in Portage, Indiana, where he was residing, and transferred him to New Orleans' jail in October, where he remains detained without bail.
New Orleans District Attorney's Response
New Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams has described the case as deeply serious and disturbing, stating in a previous announcement: "He is accused of using his position to commit violent and reprehensible acts against a child with a disability. These allegations represent an unacceptable breach of trust and a level of vulnerability that should never be taken advantage of."
If convicted as charged, Ford would face mandatory life imprisonment. His attorney, Ralph Whalen, did not immediately comment on Thursday's indictment.
Broader Context of New Orleans Clergy Abuse Scandal
Ford represents the latest figure to come under scrutiny in the longstanding clergy molestation scandal within the New Orleans Catholic church. He is among several men who have worked as Catholic clergymen in the city to face child sexual abuse allegations, both before and after the archdiocese filed for federal bankruptcy protection in 2020.
In early December, the archdiocese and its insurers agreed to pay $305 million collectively to settle with abuse survivors whose claims were involved in the bankruptcy case. Almost exactly one year prior to that agreement, retired New Orleans Catholic priest Lawrence Hecker pleaded guilty to decades-old rape and kidnapping charges, receiving a mandatory life sentence before dying in prison at age 93.
Ford's Background and Ministry History
Ford belonged to the Catholic religious order known as the Vincentians and was assigned to various churches within the archdiocese of New Orleans as well as the dioceses of Dallas and Gallup, New Mexico, during his clerical career. He served as a Catholic priest from 1992 to 2007 before successfully petitioning the Vatican to remove him from the priesthood.
Following his departure from the clergy, Ford worked for Louisiana's government beginning in 2006 as assistant director of disability affairs and later aided efforts by the state's Native tribes to recover from hurricanes. More recently, he was reported to have joined the US hunger relief non-profit Feeding America with positions in Phoenix and Chicago and served as a board member of the American Indian Center in Chicago.
Questions About Ministry Gaps
The church watchdog group BishopAccountability.org has noted that the 1994, 1999, 2002 and 2003 editions of the Official Catholic Directory failed to list Ford among active clergy members. Such disappearances often signal "problems in ministry that are not being managed in a transparent way, and/or periods during which the priest has been sent to a treatment center", according to the organization.
Only the earliest of these interruptions was publicly explained, with The Dallas Morning News reporting in 1997 that Ford had entered a program in New Mexico to be treated for problems managing money while working at two churches in Arizona for the Gallup diocese.
