Slidell man found guilty of raping young girl | News

COVINGTON—District Attorney Collin Sims reports that on May 30, 2024, a 12-member St. Tammany Parish jury found Tommy Adolph Culotta, 56, of Slidell, guilty of second-degree rape of a young girl.

Assistant District Attorneys Iain Dover and Tiffany Dover teamed up to present evidence to the jury during the four-day trial presided over by Judge Tara Zeller. The jury deliberated for about seven hours, spread over two days, before returning a unanimous verdict of guilty.

Testimony in court revealed that in May 2022, the victim told her mother that the defendant had sexually abused her. The mother notified police and Detective Adam Driskell of the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office was assigned to lead the investigation.

The victim was taken to the Children’s Hospital Audrey Hepburn Care Center in New Orleans for a forensic examination. She was also interviewed by a forensic interviewer at the Children’s Advocacy Center – Hope House. At both times, the victim described that the defendant forced her to have sexual intercourse against her will. Detective Driskell presented his findings to a St. Tammany judge, who subsequently signed an arrest warrant for the defendant. Five months later, authorities located and arrested the defendant. During a post-arrest interview with the defendant, Detective Driskell informed the defendant of the young girl’s allegations. The defendant denied assaulting the young girl.

In his opening statements to the jury, the defense attorney stated that the victim was simply a liar.

During the trial, powerful testimony was heard from the young girl and her mother. After the prosecution finished questioning the victim, the defense attorney stopped asking the victim questions. The jury also heard testimony from Detective Driskell and a pediatrician who had examined the victim. Through the doctor’s testimony, prosecutors were able to explain to the jury that “delayed disclosure” by a victim of sexual violence is not unusual. The defendant chose to testify and denied raping the victim. However, he admitted that he sometimes lies “to get out of trouble.”

In her closing argument, prosecutor Tiffany Dover went through the evidence with the jury. She said both the victim and the defendant deserved justice, but that justice had different consequences for each of them. The defense attorney argued that the defendant was an alcoholic but not a rapist, and said “he needs treatment, not prison.” In response, prosecutor Iain Dover did not dispute that alcoholism is an illness, but that “raping someone is a choice.” He also pointed out that the defense attorney could not ask a single question that would cast doubt on the victim’s coherent account of what the defendant did to her. He told the jury that the defense attorney was asking the jury to do something he could not do himself, namely tell the victim to her face that she was a liar. He urged the jury to give the victim the justice she deserved.

The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on June 11, 2024. If convicted of second-degree rape, he faces up to 40 years in prison without parole.