Louisiana appeals court upholds life sentence for Larose man convicted of raping child
A Larose man will continue serving a life sentence after a court upheld his child rape conviction.
Timothy Falgout, 38, was convicted on April 23, 2021, of first-degree rape of a victim under 13. State District Judge Steven Miller of Thibodaux handed down the mandatory life sentence without parole, probation or early release.
In his appeal, Falgout argues the trial court made a mistake when it denied his lawyer’s request for a mistrial because prosecutors introduced “inadmissible evidence” of other crimes during a video of the victim’s interview with investigators.
In its June 6 ruling, the Louisiana 1st Circuit Court of Appeal in Baton Rouge rejected Falgout’s arguments.
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In denying the request for a mistrial, the trial court said the evidence in question was not clear as to what had happened or whether criminal acts were committed, the appeals court said.
“Regarding the victim’s statements pertaining to the defendant’s disciplinary actions, we agree with the trial court’s assessment that the defendant’s actions were not fully described by the victim,” the 1st Circuit said in its ruling. “Ambiguous or obscure references to other crimes made without explanation or elaboration do not prejudice the defendant.”
The appeals court said the victim’s testimony was consistent with police interviews regarding the ongoing sexual abuse at the hands of the defendant.
“Credit should be given to the good sense and fair-mindedness of the jurors who have seen the evidence and heard the arguments,” the court said. “There is no indication that the jury was unable to discern and distinguish the acts constituting the instant offense from the brief references to other acts challenged herein. We are convicted that the verdict actually rendered in this case was surely unattributable to any error in the admission of the above-referenced statements. We further conclude that the drastic remedy of a mistrial was not warranted in this case and that the trial court did not err in denying the subsequent motion for a new trial.”
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Detectives began investigating Falgout in late July 2018 after learning he had abused a girl, authorities said. Further investigation led detectives to believe he had allegedly forcefully sexually assaulted the victim on more than one occasion.
Falgout, who was also convicted in 2004 for carnal knowledge of a juvenile and had been a registered sex offender, is incarcerated in the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola.
— Staff Writer Dan Copp can be reached at 448-7639 or at dan.copp@houmatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanVCopp.
This article originally appeared on The Courier: Larose man convicted of raping girl loses appeal for mistrial
