NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge on Monday denied a motion to unseal sworn testimony given by a retired Catholic priest who recently admitted on camera to WWL-TV that he sexually abused several teens in the 1960s and 1970s.

U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo ruled that a deposition given in 2020 by Father Lawrence Hecker should remain under seal. She said attorneys did not follow the proper procedure to get the documents unsealed.