A Louisiana man convicted of raping a girl under the age of 13 will be chemically cast*rated in addition to serving 35 years in prison, a judge ruled this week.
Ryan Clark, 34, was also ordered to make no contact with the victim, register as a s*ex offender for life and forfeit all his parental rights to any children, according to Tangipahoa Parish District Attorney Scott Perrilloux.
On March 1, Clark, a resident of Kentwood, entered a guilty plea to charges of s*exual battery, molestation of a juvenile under 13, and second-degree rape.
He was sentenced by Judge Brian Ables.
In 2008, Louisiana legalized chemical castration as a form of punishment for individuals convicted of specific offenses, such as juvenile molestation, aggravated rape, forced rape, second-degree se*xual battery, aggravated incest, and aggravated cr*ime against nature.
The process involves injections of medroxyprogesterone acetate — a drug that suppresses a man’s se*x drive by depleting testosterone levels, the outlet reported.
The injections must be administered at least a week before a convicted s*ex offender is released from prison.
From July 2020 on, the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office was told about “inappropriate behavior” between Clark and a minor by someone the victim had told. This led to an investigation into Clark. The person told the police that the behavior had been going on for over a year.
Perrilloux said that the victim was interviewed at the Children’s Advocacy Center in Hammond, where she talked about what happened.
During the investigation, a possible second victim was also found.
There were no other details given about what happened.
Clark was caught and charged with se*xual battery and molestation of a child on July 17, 2020. He was also charged with first-degree rape after more research was done.
The person who was found guilty of rape had been found guilty of misdemeanor carnal knowledge of a juvenile in 2015 for having oral se*x with a minor in public. He was locked up in Tangipahoa Parish Jail for 128 days.
