Rape suit against deputy is settled
12/2/2003
A settlement was reached with a woman who filed a lawsuit alleging an Acadia Parish sheriff's deputy had raped her, according to attorneys in the case.
The woman filed the lawsuit in 2001, seeking damages for pain and suffering and counseling expenses from Acadia Parish Sheriff Kenneth Goss, the office's insurance company and former sheriff's Deputy Ray Trahan.
The woman's attorney was Clay Burgess who declined comment.
The woman alleged that she was parked with two male friends in a pickup truck near a bridge in Mermentau when Trahan pulled behind them in his patrol car on June 10, 2000.
According to the lawsuit, the deputy allegedly ordered the woman to get into his patrol car, saying she was safer with him than the two men, and that he would drive her home.
He then allegedly drover her to a cemetery and sexually assaulted her, according to the suit.
Trahan's attorney Kenneth Privat also said that he could not comment on the outcome of the case.
"It's been resolved, and I think everyone wants to abide by the agreement," Privat said.
Goss also declined to comment on the settlement.
The sheriff said that Trahan was terminated from the sheriff's office more than a year ago.
Goss said that the allegations in the lawsuit were investigated but no charges were pursued.
"We always investigate," he said.
Goss referred questions on why the case was settled to the sheriff's office attorney, who could not be reached.