A Jefferson Parish judge on Wednesday (May 29) sentenced Charles Turner to spend the rest of his life in prison for his conviction of raping a young child.
It was the second time that Turner, 44, formerly of Metairie, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the crime.
He abused the child over a two-year period beginning in 2013, when the victim was 8 years old. In 2017, a Jefferson Parish jury found Turner guilty as charged of aggravated rape, which carries a mandatory life sentence in prison.
That jury rendered a split verdict, with 11 of the 12 jurors voting in favor of aggravated rape. At the time, non-unanimous jury verdicts were permissible under Louisiana law. However, Turner was granted a new trial in 2020, after the U.S. Supreme Court decided in its Ramos v. Louisiana decision that non-unanimous jury verdicts are unconstitutional.
Turner was retried earlier this month. He again was found guilty as charged of aggravated rape. This time, all 12 jurors agreed with the verdict.
Prior to the sentencing on Wednesday, the victim, now a young adult, testified about the “humiliation and pain” of being victimized and disclosed suicidal thoughts resulting from Turner’s actions.
After denying a defense motion for a new trial, 24th Judicial District Judge Lee Faulkner, who did not preside over the first trial, sentenced Turner to life in prison without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence.
Assistant District Attorney Zach Grate and Brendan Bowen prosecuted the case the second time.