COVINGTON—A 71-year-old man will spend the rest of his life in prison for molesting a 7-year-old girl repeatedly during the first three months of 2012. The defendant, Lovic Cotton, who lived in Sun, was sentenced Thursday (June 18) by Judge August Hand to 40 years in prison for sexual battery of a victim under 13.
The victim, now 10 years old, told the jury during Cotton’s trial two months ago that on several occasions when she shared a recliner with Cotton in his home, he covered her with a blanket and touched her inappropriately inside her pants. The jury deliberated just 10 minutes on April 23 before issuing the guilty verdict.
The jury rejected Cotton’s testimony that he only gave the girl a belly rub and was confused about why she later complained to her mother that he “rubbed her belly too low.” The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.