XPost: neworleans.general, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.atheism
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https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/theadvocate.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/4d/64d60c9a-362f-11e9-9980-0bf7653d65bc/5c6f32aef0fe9.image.jpg?crop=403%2C360%2C180%2C120
Devon Morris pleaded guilty to attempted third-degree rape and other counts in the middle of his trial at Orleans Parish Criminal District Court on Thursday. (OPSO)

After the victims gave harrowing accounts of the attack, a New Orleans man pleaded guilty Thursday in the middle of a rape trial where he was accused of sexually assaulting two teenage girls.

Devon Morris, 21, pleaded guilty to attempted third degree rape, amended from third-degree rape, and two counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile.

Prosecutors said he will serve 12 years in prison as a result of a plea agreement reached just before closing arguments. He will also have to register as a sex offender upon release. Criminal District Court Judge Camille Buras presided over the case.

Both victims were 15 years old when Morris assaulted them inside a house on April 23, 2017, prosecutors said.

In a quiet but firm voice, one of the girls testified Wednesday that she was sleeping over at a friend’s house on the night in question. She had spent the day eating pizza, watching YouTube videos and listening to music with her friend.

Morris was living in the second girl’s house but he was not related to her, prosecutors said.

The girls fell asleep about 4 a.m. in the same bed, she said. She woke up some time later without her shorts on to see Morris at the foot of the bed, she said.

The girl said she froze as Morris raped her next to her sleeping friend. When he moved over to the friend, the friend angrily shouted at him to get away, she said.

The girl said that afterward, she asked herself, “Why me?”

Both girls took showers after the incident, which prosecutors said prevented investigators from collecting DNA evidence to bolster the case.

After the showers, the girls said they walked along a levee deciding what to do before they told their mothers.

"This was not an easy case to prove through scientific evidence, so we and our victims felt it prudent to accept this guilty plea when offered," Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro said in a statement. "These brave young victims were
consistent about what happened through their multiple statements, and their credibility was apparent as they testified, forcing this defendant's hand.”

Assistant District Attorneys Mark Lopez and Daniel Smart prosecuted the case.

Stavros Panagoulopoulos represented Morris. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

https://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/courts/new-orleans-man-pleads-to-sexual-assault-charges-after-teen-victims-testify/article_29c2659a-362f-11e9-aa0c-e3b162833167.html

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