FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 17, 2023
Texas Man Pleads Guilty and is Sentenced for
Second-Degree Rape and Indecent Behavior with Juveniles
District Attorney Warren Montgomery reports that on May 15, 2023, Michael Jeffery Kleinpeter, 21, of Texas, pled guilty to second-degree rape and indecent behavior with juveniles. The crimes occurred in Slidell, Louisiana. District Judge Vincent Lobello sentenced him to 15 years in prison, to be served without the benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence, followed by lifetime registration as a sex offender.
In October of 2019, the victim, who was twelve years old at the time, spent the night at a residence where the defendant was staying. That night, the defendant raped the victim multiple times. The victim was brought to Children’s Hospital in New Orleans. The defendant’s DNA was found on the clothing that the victim was wearing during the attack.
The victim was present at the time of the guilty plea and stated during her victim impact statement, “Now that all of this is coming to an end, and I hope that I will get the closure that I need to know that after today I will never see you again. I hope what you did was all worth it because now everyone in this room now knows what kind of untrustworthy and manipulative person you are to rape me when all my family did was trust you.”
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Tiffany Dover. The case was investigated by Detective Angelica Lopez of the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s office.