LAPLACE – St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office Detectives arrested a LaPlace couple on Tuesday in connection with the sexual assault of their own 12-year-old daughter.
The girl told detectives that her stepfather had been sexually assaulting her since she was 9 years old. Some of the assaults allegedly occurred in the presence of her mother.
When the girl talked to her mother about the sexual assaults, however, the mother told her not to tell anyone because she would go to jail. The girl also told detectives that her stepfather had hit her in the face with a shoe. Her 14-year-old brother attested that the stepfather beat him several times with a belt,
leaving marks on his body.
Detectives initiated an investigation on Oct. 1 after a school counselor notified them about the assaults. The girl’s stepfather was arrested and booked with aggravated incest, cruelty to juveniles (2) and an attachment. The girl’s mother was arrested and booked with principal to aggravated incest and principal to cruelty to juveniles (2). No bond has been set for either suspect.