The five charges an accused former Calcasieu Parish priest faces relate to two victims, prosecutors said.

Mark Broussard was originally charged with 224 counts of sex abuse against three boys.

The counts were combined into 10 counts, which encompassed all the charges, but the statute of limitations has already expired on charges related to one of the boys, Cynthia Killingsworth, first assistant district attorney, said.

Broussard is now charged with five counts: two counts of aggravated rape, one count of molestation of a juvenile, one count of aggravated oral sexual battery and one count of oral sexual battery.

Broussard’s accusers allege he molested them between 1986 and 1991.

Killingsworth said the charges against two of the victims did not prescribe because they involve rape.

The laws that determine how long after a crime prosecutors can proceed have changed many times, but crimes that carry a life sentence or the death penalty do not have a time limit, she said.

Although the charges are down to five from 224, Killingsworth reiterated that the remaining ones encompass the others.

“I didn’t drop the charges; I put them in one,” she said. “It’s much easier for victims to deal with. When you have a child victim of sexual assault they don’t remember when which happened. They remember incidents and they remember how often.

“You get to a point of diminishing returns when you’ve got a mandatory life sentence on two of the counts.”

Killingsworth also said she had filed a motion to introduce the other charges as “evidence of lustful disposition.”

(American Press Archives)

Michelle Higginbotham

Mark A. Broussard