Rigoberto Ventura
COVINGTON—A St. Tammany Parish jury unanimously found Rigoberto Ventura, 57, guilty Wednesday (June 24) of aggravated rape for sexually abusing a boy, from age 5 to about 10, on multiple occasions and sexual battery for molesting a girl, then 7 or 8. Ventura, who lived in Lacombe, faces a mandatory life sentence on the aggravated rape conviction and 25 to 99 years in prison for sexual battery.
District Judge Scott C. Gardner set Ventura’s sentencing for July 13. Assistant District Attorney Jason Cuccia and William Macke prosecuted the case. The jury deliberated about three hours before returning the guilty verdicts.
The allegations first surfaced against Ventura in 2011, when the male victim revealed to a substance abuse counselor that Ventura had raped and sexually abused him from age 5 until he was about 10. The counselor notified family members, who reported the abuse to the Slidell Police Department. Less than a year later, the second victim reported that Ventura had touched her inappropriately under her clothing on two occasions when she was 7 or 8 years old.
Both victims testified during the trial.