Crimes against nature charge against local father dismissed
Published 11:45 am Wednesday, July 31, 2024
Charges against a Lake Charles father accused of aggravated crimes against nature by incest have been dismissed.
Defense attorney Todd Clemons said his client, Aaron Guillory, was falsely accused of sexually assaulting a 4-year-old family member and was given the “exorbitant amount” of $400,000 as his bond.
“Our client had to spend approximately $23,000 to bond out of the Calcasieu Parish Correctional Center,” Clemons said. “Additionally, Aaron had to spend a significant amount of his hard-earned money on legal fees.”
Guillory was arrested in March of 2022, after Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives were dispatched to a local hospital in reference to a child who had been admitted into the emergency room for a sexual assault examination.
Clemons said Guillory has spent more than two years now defending his name — appearing in court six times and rejecting multiple plea deals offered by the prosecution.
“Mr. Guillory stood firm on his faith, his innocence, and his trust in the criminal justice system,” Clemons said.
Clemons said his firm filed a motion for speedy trial on April 10 at his client’s request to force the Calcasieu Parish District Attorney’s Office to bring the case to trial. Clemons said Guillory was “tired of living under the cloud of this horrendous false allegation.”
The DA’s office ultimately dismissed the case.
“The evidence against Aaron was insufficient when he was arrested,” Clemons said. “It was insufficient when the Bill of Information was filed against him in later that month. It was insufficient every time the DA set it and re-
set it for trial, and it was insufficient on June 10, 2024, when they quietly dismissed this matter.
“Cases like this should be a cautionary tale for all of us,” Clemons continued. “A person’s life can be disrupted and you can be on the precipice of spending at least 25 years in Angola based upon a single uncorroborated accusation.”