Jury Finds Slidell Man Guilty In Child Sexual Abuse Trial
February 18, 2025
District Attorney Collin Sims reports that on February 17, 2025, a St. Tammany Parish jury deliberated for approximately 40 minutes before finding 63-year-old Robert Allen Morgan of Slidell guilty on all charges, specifically two counts of first degree rape of a child under age thirteen, two counts of molestation of a child under age thirteen, one count of indecent behavior with a juvenile and one count of sexual battery of a child under age fifteen. Assistant District Attorneys Christina Fisher and Tiffany Dover presented the case to the jury and Judge Richard Swartz presided over the week-long trial that began February 10th. Detective Nicholas Fishel, formerly with the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Office and now with Louisiana State Police, was in charge of the investigation.
According to trial testimony, at a gathering during the summer of 2021, a teenaged girl made a remark to friends about being molested years earlier. The mother hosting the group of teens overheard the girl’s remark and spoke to the girl about it. She then reported it to the Department of Children and Family Services and to the girl’s mother. The girl’s parents in turn notified the police and the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office began an investigation.
The teen was taken to the Children’s Advocacy Center’s Hope House in Covington where she was interviewed by certified forensic interviewer Cally Huggins. During her interview, the girl identified Robert Morgan as having sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions for several years prior to her becoming a teen. As detectives proceeded with their investigation, two additional teens, one female and one male, disclosed they too had been sexually assaulted by the defendant years earlier. They both were interviewed and, like the first teen, provided detailed accounts of the sexual acts the defendant perpetrated on them.
Detectives then interviewed the defendant. When confronted with the accusations made by the victims, Morgan initially denied them but later conceded that he had in fact performed sexual acts on and with the victims. When describing one of the sex acts involving the young male, Morgan said it was “exhilarating” for him. At the conclusion of the interview, Morgan said he was remorseful and prays for forgiveness. Arrest warrants were secured and Morgan was arrested in November of 2021. Morgan posted bond and was released from custody pending trial.
During the trial, the recorded interviews of the three victims and the defendant were played for the jury. Additionally, the victims took the witness stand and, with the jury listening intently, answered questions posed by prosecutors and defense counsel. After prosecutors completed the presentation of their evidence, the defendant testified. Despite his earlier admissions to detectives, the defendant now claimed his inappropriate interactions with the young victims were instigated by the victims. He said the remorse he expressed to the detectives was for failing to immediately alert the youngsters’ parents of their inappropriate behavior. While he acknowledged utilizing a sex toy with one of the victims and showing it to another, he disputed the victims’ consistent descriptions of its color and shape.
In the state’s closing arguments at the conclusion of the trial, ADAs Tiffany Dover and Christina Fisher told the jury the mandatory life sentence for rape should not deter the jury from holding the defendant accountable for his horrific crimes. They asserted the defendant was deserving of a life sentence. They reviewed how extensive the sexual abuse was and how the defendant himself corroborated many of the details provided by the victims.
During his closing argument, defense counsel said the defendant did not instigate any of the sexual behavior. He argued the victims’ accusations were so outrageous, they required “suspension of disbelief.” He urged the jury to acquit the defendant.
After the jury’s guilty verdicts, Judge Swartz remanded Morgan to jail pending sentencing which he set for May 9, 2025. First degree rape carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison. Molestation carries up to 99 years in prison. The maximum prison term for sexual battery is ten years and for indecent behavior with a juvenile, seven years.
District Attorney Collin Sims wishes to acknowledge the vital services the Children’s Advocacy Center in Covington and the Audrey Hepburn CARE Center affiliated with Children’s Hospital in New Orleans provided to the victims in this case, not to mention the many other young victims of abuse in our local communities.