Slidell man convicted of child rape in Covington hotel | Courts

A Slidell man has been convicted of raping a 13-year-old girl in a hotel room two years ago, the Northshore District Attorney’s Office said.

Tommy Culotta, 56, was found guilty Thursday of one count of second-degree rape. The jury deliberated for seven hours after a four-day trial, according to a news release from District Attorney Collin Sims of the 22nd Judicial District, which includes St. Tammany and Washington parishes.

Culotta had gone to a Covington hotel with the victim in May 2022 and behaved inappropriately toward her, making the child uncomfortable, prosecutors said.

When the girl told Culotta he was making her uncomfortable, they began to argue. During their final argument, Culotta forced the victim onto one of the hotel beds and raped her, prosecutors said.

The girl called her mother, who picked her up. She did not tell her what had happened until several days later. When her mother discovered her daughter had been sexually abused, she called police. The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office began investigating, and the girl was interviewed by forensic staff, which led to law enforcement obtaining a warrant for Culotta’s arrest, the district attorney’s office said.

Five months later, Culotta was arrested. At trial, Culotta’s defense argued that the victim had lied. Prosecutors urged the jury to believe the girl and give her the “justice she deserves.”

Culotta will be sentenced on June 11 and faces up to 40 years in prison.