Man, 64, Gets 99 Years For Fondling, Later Raping Child
COVINGTON, La. (CBSDFW/AP) — An investigation by the sheriff's offices in Rockwall and St. Tammany Parish in Louisiana led to the arrest and conviction of a 64-year-old Louisiana man for raping and otherwise sexually abusing a child.
St. Tammany Parish District Attorney Warren Montgomery says in a news release Tuesday that a judge gave James Matthew Cole of Lacombe the maximum sentence for sexual battery -- 99 years -- of someone less than 13 years old, second-degree rape and molesting a juvenile.
The sexual battery charge carried 99 years, the others 40 years each. All are to be served simultaneously.
A St. Tammany Parish jury convicted Cole on Aug. 10. The girl said he fondled her for at least two years, starting when she was 9 or 10 years old, and raped her starting in September 2015.
The sheriff's offices in Rockwall arranged for a forensic interview of a possible victim who lived in North Texas.
They then conducted the forensic interview on their behalf.