New Orleans priest accused of abusing children in deaf community dies from apparent fall aged 87

Archdiocese knew of allegations against Gerard Joseph ‘Jerry’ Howell for 40 years but continued to support him

A New Orleans Catholic priest whose prolific sexual abuse of children in the local deaf community was known for at least four decades by the city’s archdiocese without meaningful consequence has died after evidently falling in his Texas apartment.

Gerard Joseph “Jerry” Howell, 87, was found dead at about 5pm on 8 September by Austin police department officers who were responding to a welfare check on the block listed for the senior living community where he had been residing, the agency said in a statement. The statement – which didn’t name Howell but was provided when police were asked about his death specifically – said first responders had gone to the block to investigate a report that an 87-year-old individual had fallen.