By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – A Killona man received a 25-year prison sentence after he pleaded guilty in St. John Parish court to a 2008 forcible rape of a 13-year-old girl, according to a release from the District Attorney’s Office.

Travis White, 26, entered his plea before District Court Judge Mary Hotard Becnel. Mike Tregre, a spokesman for the District Attorney’s Office, said White was sentenced immediately following the plea arrangement.

According to a release from the St. John Sherriff’s Office, White was arrested May 1, 2008, in connection with the incident, which took place on April 27, 2008, at a home in Edgard.

The release states White broke into the home and sexually assaulted the 13-year-old victim while she lay in her bed. A 12-year-old girl was present in the room at the time of the incident, but authorities said she was not harmed. Both children were taken to Children’s Hospital in New Orleans for examination and treatment.

Tregre said physical evidence from the scene, including DNA matching that of White’s, tied White to the incident.

White received 25 years of hard labor without the benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence.