On September 26, 2018, a St. James Parish Jury found Gene Franklin of Lutcher, LA., age 33, guilty of 2nd Degree Sexual Battery. Franklin was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Adam Koenig, and presiding over this matter was the Honorable Judge Tess Stromberg.
On October 29, 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 the victim 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 the jury returning a guilty verdict in this matter, Judge Stromberg ordered that sentencing be deferred to a later date pending a Pre-Sentence Investigation. The charge of 2nd Degree Sexual Battery carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. It should be noted that the District Attorney’s Office does intend to file a habitual offender bill against Franklin.
Franklin had previously pled guilty to the amended charge of Sexual Battery on July 25, 2017. Upon entering a guilty plea, sentencing was deferred to a later date pending a Pre-Sentence Investigation. Prior to sentencing, a motion to withdraw the guilty plea was filed on behalf of Franklin, and he was allowed to withdraw his guilty plea based on the circumstances surrounding the plea.
Franklin remains incarcerated awaiting sentencing.