NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A judge on Tuesday refused to overturn a former Louisiana sheriff's conviction on sex abuse charges, but limited the amount of restitution prosecutors could seek from him.
Former St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain faces life in prison following his conviction last year on charges that he abused boys. He was scheduled to be sentenced on Tuesday.
The sentencing hearing was rescheduled for February 22, The Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate reports.
Ad hoc Judge A. Bruce Simpson rejected Strain’s request for an acquittal or new trial, according to the newspaper. But he also agreed that the state cannot seek restitution for victims Strain was convicted of molesting before a state restitution law was enacted in 2000.
Prosecutors also wanted Strain to pay for the cost of his incarceration. Simpson said he had never faced such a request.
Strain was convicted in November of four counts of aggravated rape involving juvenile victims, two counts of aggravated incest and one count each of indecent behavior with a juvenile and sexual battery. The allegations included crimes that took place before and during his time as sheriff, a job he held for five terms before losing reelection in 2015.
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