FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Re-Trial in St. Tammany Parish Child Sexual Assault Case Halted By Defendant’s Change of Plea
November 19, 2024
District Attorney Collin Sims reports that last week’s re-trial of 57-year-old Lenard Turpin of Slidell on a charge of attempted indecent behavior with a juvenile was abruptly halted on November 14th when Turpin decided to change his plea from not guilty to guilty. Assistant District Attorney Zachary Popovich with the Special Victims Unit of the DA’s Office and Assistant District Attorney Taylor Nicholson presented the case to the jury with Judge Scott Gardner presiding. Turpin had previously been convicted of this charge by a nonunanimous jury verdict in 2019. A year later, after the United States Supreme Court ruled nonunanimous verdicts unconstitutional, the original jury verdict was vacated and the charge was returned to the trial court to be tried again.
According to elicited testimony, the defendant ingratiated himself with a group of families in Pearl River. He lavished attention on their kids, providing them with various forms of fun and entertainment. On June 1, 2017, Turpin appeared at the families’ residences and convinced the parents to allow their kids to accompany him back to his Slidell house under the ruse he was hosting a birthday party for his young son. The parents acquiesced and allowed their children, who ranged from age 11 to 14, to go with the defendant. Once they arrived at the house, the kids quickly noticed no one else was present, not even Turpin’s own son. Turpin ushered them to a game room in his house where the kids began playing pool. While they played, Turpin made several lewd comments toward the girls present. As the then-11-year-old victim of this case was preparing to strike the cue ball, he approached her from behind as if to help her do it properly. He pressed his body against hers and, with his hands, inappropriately touched her over her clothing. Turpin later produced a meth pipe and coerced the victim into consuming “crystal meth” with him. When the kids were picked up after the “party”, the adults in the vehicle quickly noticed the victim appeared to be under the influence of an unknown substance. Authorities were notified and the girl was taken to a local hospital where she tested positive for methamphetamine.
After the jury was seated for last week’s trial, counsel for each side presented opening statements to the jurors. During its opening, defense counsel told jurors the 11-year-old girl consumed the methamphetamine on her own and fabricated the story against Turpin in order to deflect blame from herself. After several witnesses had testified, Turpin’s attorney interrupted the trial and informed the court Turpin now wanted to admit his guilt. Turpin acknowledged under oath that the victim’s accusations against him were in fact truthful and accurate. Judge Gardner accepted Turpin’s guilty plea and sentenced him to ten years in prison. The sentence range for attempted indecent behavior with a juvenile is up to 12½ years in prison. Upon Turpin’s eventual release from incarceration, he will be required to register as a convicted sex offender. The now 19-year-old victim was present in the courtroom for Turpin’s sentencing and expressed her satisfaction with the terms of Turpin’s sentence.