ERIK SANZENBACH / L’Observateur / October 11, 2000

LAPLACE – A 51-year-old LaPlace man has been arrested and charged with molesting his 7-year-old granddaughter, according to the St. John theBaptist Sheriff’s Office.

9-1-1 operators received a complaint from a woman on Yorktowne Drive in LaPlace Saturday who said her granddaughter was being molested.

When deputies arrived at the residence, the suspect fled the living room and hid in a bedroom.

His wife then told deputies she had walked into the living room and found the man trying to have sex with their granddaughter.

Deputies found the little girl hiding in the bathroom, and she related what happened to her.

She said she and the suspect were watching cartoons on TV and sitting on the couch. She said he then took off her clothes, began to touch her andthen attempted to have sex with her.

At that point, the man’s wife walked in, saw him with his pants down around his ankles, screamed and called 9-1-1.

“She was visibly upset,” said Capt. Michael Tregre of the St. John Sheriff’sOffice.

After hearing from both the grandmother and the girl, deputies advised the suspect of his rights and arrested him.

“He admitted to the deputies that he touched the little girl,” said Tregre.

The girl was taken to River Parishes Hospital for a medical examination, and there will be a follow-up investigation by the sheriff’s office.

The suspect was place in the Sherman R. Walker Correctional Facility under$75,000 bond set by 40th District Judge, Sterling Snowdy. He remained in jailMonday.

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