40-year prison sentence given to Ponchatoula man for rape

AMITE, La. (WVUE) - A Ponchatoula man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for rape, according to information from the 21st Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

Darius Garrett, 20, pleaded no contest to a felony charge of second-degree rape, which is given in cases where the victim is prevented from resisting due to force or threats. Garrett will have to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life.

The DA’s office says that Garrett was arrested on June 1 after the Hammond Police Dept. received a report that he was discovered in the act with a minor. After the victim was interviewed, another minor victim came forward. Both victims told police that Garrett had forced them into sex acts by threatening and physically assaulting them with weapons.

The witness that found Garrett in the act confronted him and attempted to detain him before Garrett fled into a wooded area. When police arrived to arrest him, a family member was holding Garrett up in the parking lot of a nearby business.

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