Joshua Hanson
COVINGTON—Joshua Hanson, 27, of Abita Springs, was sentenced to seven years in prison Thursday (Oct. 22), after pleading guilty to molestation of a juvenile and carnal knowledge of a juvenile for incidents more than two years ago with a 16-year-old girl.
Hanson first connected with the girl on Facebook, but the two eventually met in person and began an ongoing sexual relationship. One night in June 2013, Hanson invited the girl to spend the night because his parents were supposed to be out of town. But when Hanson arrived home to find his parents there, he was furious, got into an argument with them, and sped off in his truck with the victim into a nearby wooded area.
Once there, Hanson told the girl that he was capable of killing her and that no one would hear her scream, and he proceeded to engage in a sexual act with her. The victim begged him to stop because he was causing her severe pain, but he continued. The next day, he again touched her inappropriately without her permission.
Several months later, the victim told a family friend and her parents. She said she had been afraid to report it because Hanson’s parents are law enforcement officers, and he’d bragged that he would never get in trouble.
Hanson also pled guilty Thursday to failure to register as a sex offender for a previous conviction. In 2010, when Hanson was 21 years old and in the U.S. Army, he was convicted in a military court of aggravated sexual assault of a child. He failed to properly register as a convicted sex offender when he resumed residing in St. Tammany Parish later that year.
District Judge Peter J. Garcia sentenced Hanson to five years in prison on that charge and ran it concurrent with the other sentences. Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Kilian prosecuted the case and was assisted by Assistant District Attorney Louis Butler.