Hearing on motions in case of man convicted of raping informant moved to September
Antonio Jones' hearing on several motions was moved on Thursday into September.
Jones was convicted in November by a Rapides Parish jury on two counts of the third-degree rape of a confidential informant who was buying drugs as part of a Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office sting.
The informant was wired during the Jan. 13, 2021, encounter, but audio and video was not transmitted to nearby detectives in real time. It wasn't until after the woman had been raped twice that she was able to leave and tell detectives, who later arrested Jones.
The video was played for jurors during Jones' trial.
Ninth Judicial District Court Judge Chris Hazel sentenced Jones to 10 years in prison on both counts, to be served concurrently. Within days, Rapides Parish Assistant District Attorney Brian Cespiva filed a motion for that sentence to be reconsidered, stating it "deprecates the seriousness of the defendant's crime."
Cespiva has asked for Jones to be sentenced to the maximum penalty, 25 years, on both counts. He wants those sentences to be served consecutively, meaning Jones would serve 50 years without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence.
On Thursday, Jones was before Judge Patricia Koch, who has taken over the criminal docket that Hazel presided over until earlier this year. Hazel now presides over civil cases.
Koch granted a joint motion from Cespiva and Jones' defense attorney, Phillip Robinson, to continue the motion hearing until Sept. 25.
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Robinson also has filed motions to have the sentence reconsidered and for a new trial, based on the victim filing a civil lawsuit against the sheriff's office and others in January.
Robinson's motion for a new trial contends the victim's allegations in her lawsuit contradicts her testimony under cross-examination during Jones' trial. Under questioning from Robinson, the victim testified that she never felt pressured to be an informant, didn't blame the sheriff's office for what happened and had no plans to sue.
Jones has appealed his conviction to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal, which in April sent the case back to the district level until the motions are resolved.
This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Motion hearing for convicted rapist Antonio Jones moved to September
