A Jefferson Parish judge on Monday (Sept. 14) sentenced serial rapist Donnell Bluain to six back-to-back life sentences in prison for raping six women in East Jefferson four decades ago.
“We all have waited 40 years for justice to catch up with you, and it finally has,” one of Bluain’s victims said in victim-impact testimony during Monday’s sentencing hearing.
On Sept. 3, a jury found Bluain, 60, a former Metairie resident, guilty as charged of six counts of aggravated rape. Each count carries a mandatory life sentence in prison without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. Click here to read about the trial.
During Monday’s sentencing hearing, Judge Shayna Beevers Morvant of the 24th Judicial District Court ran the six sentences consecutively and consecutive to the life sentence he’s serving in Georgia for raping women in that state after he left Jefferson Parish in the late 1980s.
“You had a reign of terror not only for the women of Jefferson Parish, but their fathers, their brothers, their sons, people who sat here at this (witness) stand and explained the precautions they took for their wives, their daughters and their family members. The fear for them is over. You’ve taken no accountability. You’ve shown no remorse when you testified,”
the judge told Bluain.
“And here’s the fact: Some of these victims are now deceased. They passed away not ever knowing if they would ever get justice,” Judge Beevers Morvant said of three victims who have died since Bluain raped them.
Armed with either a knife or a screwdriver and at times concealing his identity by covering his face with his underwear or a mask, Bluain entered the victims’ homes through side or rear windows between January and July of 1986.
He evaded arrest for almost four decades, until the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit reopened its investigation in 2021 and subsequently identified him as the serial rapist through his DNA.
One of the surviving victims who testified Monday was raped twice by Bluain that night. “The fear I felt was enormous,” she testified, describing her inability to remain in her home until a friend could check each room and closet “for a very long time.” She had burglar bars installed on all windows and doors as a result, and she worried about being infected with HIV, she testified.
“The fear that remained with me was that I had been watched, and I had no idea,” she testified of being stalked by Bluain before he broke into her home. “Was I watched when I walked in my neighborhood? Was I watched when I cut my grass or when I drove my car to park and take the bus to New Orleans in the morning?”
Another victim testified that she is “profoundly grateful” to the detectives and investigators “whose dedicated work brought the truth to light.” She told Bluain she chose to forgive him rather than carry hatred in her heart.
The third victim to testify Monday told Bluain, “I recognized you when I came into this courthouse. And I knew you recognized me, too. There was no way you couldn’t recognize me. We spent a lot of time in that bathroom together.”
“I forgave you a long time ago,” she testified. “Because as long as I was not forgiving, I was being held a prisoner.”
“And I want you to know you owe a sincere apology, a heartfelt apology to all the victims whose lives you have impacted, and to their families, your own family,” she added.
Bluain said nothing during the hearing.
In addition to the prison time, Bluain is prohibited from contacting any of the victims and must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Assistant District Attorneys Lindsay Truhe, Tommy Block and Sarah Helmstetter prosecuted the case.