70-year-old Slidell man convicted of raping 2 children for years

A 70-year-old Slidell man has been convicted of raping two children starting when they were ages 7 and 8.

A jury in 22nd Judicial District Court found James Bishop guilty on Thursday of aggravated and first-degree rape of a child younger than 13, two counts of molesting a juvenile and production of child pornography, the District Attorney’s Office said.

Authorities say they learned in 2018 that a young girl told her counselor Bishop had touched her inappropriately. The child said her first memory of the abuse was when Bishop walked into her room when she was 7 and exposed his genitals to her, prosecutors said.

Authorities say they learned in 2018 that a young girl told her counselor Bishop had touched her inappropriately. The child said her first memory of the abuse was when Bishop walked into her room when she was 7 and exposed his genitals to her, prosecutors said.

At trial, both victims testified to multiple years of abuse starting at the ages of 7 and 8. A third child testified that Bishop had tried to engage in similar behavior with her but failed, prosecutors said.

“These victims had nothing to gain by coming forward,” Assistant District Attorney Zachary Popovich said at trial. “They have been called liars, have had their bodies and minds examined, told their story to strangers and are having their naked images shown in front of this courtroom. They gained nothing except that the abuse stopped.”

Bishop faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. Sentencing is set for July 19.