A Bridge City man was sentenced to 60 years in prison on Thursday (Feb. 9), for his conviction of sexually abusing a girl during a 5-year period.
Trevor Clifton, 37, also faces a lifetime of electronic monitoring by the state and sex-offender registration should he be released from prison, 24th Judicial District Judge E. Adrian Adams ordered in announcing the punishment.
A Jefferson Parish jury convicted Clifton as charged on Jan. 26 of sexual battery of a victim under age 13, and sexual battery. Sexual battery involving a child age 13 or under carries a punishment of 25 years to 99 years in prison.
For the former charge, Judge Adams handed down a 60-year sentence with the first 25 years to be served without benefit of probation, parole or suspended sentence. Judge Adams sentenced Clifton to the maximum 10 years for the latter charge. He ran the sentences concurrently.
The victim’s mother caught Clifton in the act of abusing the child on Oct. 2, 2015, when the victim was 14 years old. In impact testimony on Thursday, the woman told Judge Adams how Clifton’s actions adversely affected her and her daughter.
“Trevor Clifton showed no remorse for the horrible decisions he has made in his life,” the mother testified.
She added that with the sentencing hearing behind them, her daughter can grow into an intelligent woman. “Now she has a voice. I will not let this situation ruin her life.”
After she discovered the abuse, the mother called 911. Before the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office arrived, Clifton confessed to the mother that he abused the child only that one time, according to trial testimony.
Clifton brandished a knife and threatened to cut his own throat. But before deputies arrived, Clifton fled, triggering a two-day manhunt that ended with his arrest. Deputies tracked him to a woman’s home in Harvey. There, the deputies found Clifton hiding behind a refrigerator.
Authorities recovered a man’s DNA from the victim’s body, but the amount of genetic material was not enough for analysts to identify its donor. Meanwhile, through interviews, the victim disclosed Clifton had been abusing her since she was about 9 years old.
Assistant District Attorneys Matt Clauss and Josh Vanderhooft prosecuted the case.
