Ray Mouton

Francis Ray Mouton Jr. (April 1, 1947 – February 5, 2026) was an American lawyer. He was known for his 1984 legal defense of Father Gilbert Gauthe, a Roman Catholic priest who was convicted of molesting 37 children, in the first widely publicized trial for child sexual abuse in the church. He subsequently co-authored a report detailing a great deal more abuse by clergy, warning the church that they stood to lose a billion dollars. The church ignored the report, which catalyzed a moral crisis for Mouton in which he got divorced, became an alcoholic, and moved to Europe. He published a novel about abuse in the church and a guidebook to Pamplona.

Life and career Francis Ray Mouton Jr. was the second child of five born to Francis Ray Sr. and Marjorie Mouton (née Breedlove). He was born in Lafayette, Louisiana, on April 1, 1947. His family built Our Lady of Fatima, described by The New York Times as "one of the grandest churches in Lafayette." Mouton received death threats for this work on the case. After pleading guilty, Gauthe was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment. The family of the victim received $1.2m in damages.

During his defense of Gauthe, Mouton learned that the church had known about his crimes since his time in seminary and had moved him from parish to parish as a result. Mouton had also seen evidence that convinced him of wider abuse in the church and set out to document what he knew. The result was a 92-page document, which became known as The Manual, co-authored with Father Tom Doyle, a canon lawyer at the Vatican embassy in Washington, D.C., and Father Michael Peterson, a psychiatrist and priest.

Mouton then spent a decade traveling in Europe, settling in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France, close to the border with Spain. He married Melony Barrios in 2000, and in 2002 published a book, Pamplona: Running the Bulls, Bars and Barrios in Fiesta de San Fermin.

Mouton died from lung and throat cancer aged 78 in Jefferson, Louisiana, on February 5, 2026.