On July 25, 2017, just minutes prior to the beginning of jury selection, Gene Franklin of 3365 Amy St. Paulina, LA., age 32, pled guilty to the charge of Sexual Battery. Franklin was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Adam Koenig and Charles “Chuck” Long. Presiding over this matter was the Honorable Judge Tess Stromberg.  

          On November 2, 2016, St. James Parish Sheriff’s detectives were dispatched to a residence in reference to a sexual battery. Upon making contact with the victim, detectives learned that Gene Franklin, after making sexual advances toward his girlfriend and was denied, had inserted some type of object into the victim’s private area causing damage to her body. The victim advised that she wanted to pursue charges as this was not the first time she was abused after refusing to have intercourse with Franklin. Franklin was subsequently arrested and booked into the St. James Parish Jail. 

Upon entering a guilty plea to the above mentioned charge, sentencing was deferred pending a Pre-Sentence Investigation.