BATON ROUGE — Recently unsealed documents in a lawsuit against a former priest who taught at Catholic High School in Baton Rouge say he faced allegations of sexual abuse elsewhere as far back as the 1970s, a newspaper reported Monday.

The Advocate said the documents revealed no sexual misconduct allegations at the high school, but that Daniel Lemoine had acknowledged some of the complaints himself. It wasn't clear whether the recently disclosed incidents were already among credible accusations of abuse detailed by the diocese in 2019.

Last year, a Denham Springs man filed a lawsuit against Lemoine, alleging he had sexually abused him as an altar boy at Immaculate Conception Church from 1984 to 1986. The lawsuit was filed under Louisiana's "Lookback Window" law which gave purported victims a three-year period in which they could file claims.

The newspaper said the lawsuit includes documents detailing accusations dating to the 1970s. According to the paper, Lemoine admitted to having sex with two teenage boys in 1994, less than two years after being removed from a teaching job at Catholic High. Five years later, he was removed from all priestly duties in 1999 amid a lawsuit.

The current lawsuit also lists the diocese as a defendant, claiming it should have known Lemoine was a risk. The next court date in the lawsuit is Aug. 18.

The newspaper said it could not reach Lemoine or his attorney for comment. The diocese said it would not comment on a pending lawsuit. 

According to diocesan documents, Lemoine was ordained in 1979 and abuse reports came in that same year and lasted until the early 1980s. He was placed on administrative leave in 1994, removed from the priesthood in 1999 and laicized in 2021.

He was removed from a teaching post at Catholic High after complaints that Lemoine was "socializing too much with students."