LAPLACE — Two women assaulted and raped by a LaPlace man recently displayed amazing courage, authorities said, persevering through years of the legal process and testifying against their assailant, ultimately seeing him sentenced to more then 50 years in jail.

District Attorney Bridget A. Dinvaut said cooperation from two victims, which included a teenager, was a key for conviction.

“The young victim in this case courageously took the stand against Delcome Evans,” Dinvaut said. “Additionally, a woman who had previously been raped by Delcome Evans agreed to travel to St. John Parish from the state of Washington to testify in the case to help the jury understand the truth and to support our victim.”

According to the St. John the Baptist Parish District Attorney’s Office, Evans was sentenced June 20 in LaPlace by Judge J. Sterling Snowdy to 55 years with the Louisiana Department of Corrections.

The sentencing followed a two-day trial that concluded April 12 in Edgard when a 12-person St. John Parish jury found Evans guilty. Evans was given credit for time served.

Dinvaut’s office filed a habitual offender bill, which increased Evans’ sentencing exposure.

Assistant District Attorney Justin Lacour led the prosecution with assists from Christopher Cortez and Henri Dufresne. The Public Defenders Office represented Evans.

Evans, 39, of LaPlace was arrested April 3, 2015, for forcible rape following a complaint from a 13-year-old female victim, police said.

St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies began their investigation after responding to St. James Parish Hospital at 10:59 a.m. April 2, 2015, following a hospital personnel report of a sexual-assault victim.

The victim told deputies her mother’s boyfriend raped her that morning at her home after her mother left for work. Deputies identified the boyfriend as Evans, who left the home after the assault.

At the time, the victim told her 16-year-old sister about the assault, with the older sister calling her mother at work. The mother came home and took her daughter to the hospital.

Police said the victim told investigators she did what Evans told her to do because she feared he would hurt her or her sister if she did not.

Evans was arrested the next morning at his Glendale Drive residence.