Mark Carpenter
A former assistant principal at Lee Road Junior High School pleaded guilty on Monday afternoon to raping a 6-year-old girl and to possessing child pornography.
Mark Carpenter, 54, received 30 years in prison for raping the girl in 1986, before he was hired by the St. Tammany Parish school system.
Carpenter, 12127 North East Drive, Covington, was arrested at the Lee Road school on Oct. 8, 2007, and taken to St. Tammany Parish Jail after questioning. He subsequently resigned as assistant principal on Oct. 9, 2007.
He was accused of sexually abusing the girl for 10 years, from the time she was 6 years old until she was 16, authorities said. The victim is now 27. State Judge Elaine Dimiceli sentenced Carpenter to 30 years for the forcible rape charge, without the benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. He received five years for the child pornography charge. The sentences will run concurrently.
Carpenter originally had been charged with aggravated rape, which can carry a sentence of life in prison, but Ronnie Gracianette, chief of trials for the parish district attorney's office, said on Monday that the victim and her family were happy with the plea agreement.
http://www.teachercrime.com/louisiana.html
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