Slidell man changes plea to guilty in 2017 child sexual assault case

SLIDELL, La. (WGNO) — A retrial for a Slidell man previously convicted in a child sexual assault case has been halted after he pled guilty on Thursday, Nov. 14.

The Office of District Attorney Collin Sims reported that 57-year-old Lenard Turpin changed his plea from not guilty to guilty after opening statements were made and witnesses testified.

Court documents state that a nonunanimous jury found Turpin guilty of attempted indecent behavior with a juvenile in 2019, but received a new trial after the U.S. Supreme Court deemed non-unanimous verdicts unconstitutional.

According to court documents, Turpin became involved with a group of families with children in Pearl River and invited the children to his home for a birthday party for his son on June 1, 2017.

Officials with the district attorney’s office said that the children were reportedly allowed to go with Turpin, but once they got to the house, they noticed no one else was there.

Turpin then allegedly brought the children, aged 11 to 14, into a game room to play pool and began making inappropriate comments.

Court documents state that Turpin inappropriately touched an 11-year-old who was playing pool and “coerced the victim into consuming ‘crystal meth’ with him.”

The district attorney’s office reported that the victim was taken to a hospital after she was picked up from the party, and adults noticed she was acting abnormally.

According to court documents, the victim was found to have methamphetamine in her system.

On Thursday, Turpin reportedly stated that the victim’s testimony was true, and he was sentenced to 10 years in prison and must register as a sex offender once released.

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