XPost: neworleans.general, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.atheism
XPost: sac.politics, alt.war.civil.usa

https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/theadvocate.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/c3/5c33054e-2f1c-11e9-9a72-971cf0d5654c/5c63541b068ae.image.jpg?resize=640%2C427
Sherman Hampton

A man who police said escaped their grasp for years as he sexually assaulted a series of women stands to receive a life sentence after he was convicted by a New Orleans jury Thursday.

Sherman Hampton, 64, was convicted of three counts of aggravated rape and one count of simple rape after jurors deliberated for two hours, the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office said.

The case was defined by DNA evidence from sexual assault examinations that linked Hampton to all of the attacks.

Criminal District Court Judge Robin Pittman is set to hand Hampton a mandatory life sentence on Feb. 22.

Authorities said Hampton raped women who were strangers to him for years in vicious, armed attacks.

He was convicted of forcing a woman from a bus stop to an abandoned building near the former St. Thomas housing development and raping her in June 1992. The woman testified at the trial that she feared for her life as her hands were bound with duct tape.

Authorities said Hampton also raped a woman in a stairwell with a gun against her head on Third Street in May 1995.

Then he raped a woman on Freret Street in April 2003, prosecutors said. He was convicted of simple rape in that case rather than the charge of aggravated rape sought by prosecutors.

Finally, prosecutors said, Hampton raped a woman with a knife to her throat inside a home on South Liberty Street in May 2003. The victim’s young cousin was sleeping just feet away.

Police obtained warrants for Hampton’s arrest at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola while he was serving a separate sentence for a 2003 burglary. He was booked on the rape counts after his release from prison in October 2013.

At the trial, defense attorney Greg Carter argued that none of the victims had identified his client, and that they gave police conflicting descriptions of their attacker. He said the DNA evidence could not be trusted because it contradicted the victims'
statements.

Assistant District Attorneys Tiffany Tucker and Angad Ghai prosecuted the case.

In a statement, District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro praised the woman who chose to testify against Hampton years or decades after the attacks.

“Their wait has been interminable; their pain has been acute for more than 16 years,” he said. “I hope this verdict gives them relief and comfort. Because of their brave testimony, this brutal rapist won't be free to hurt anyone again."

Carter said his client would appeal. "My client vehemently disagrees with the jury’s verdict," he said.

https://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/courts/man-convicted-of-four-cold-case-new-orleans-rapes-to-receive-mandatory-life-sentence/article_5d09358c-309e-11e9-afed-13947d49acdd.html

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