Appeal denied in 2016 rape case
Sargent abused victim for 6 years
By Lisa Addison
laddison@americanpress.com
The state Supreme Court has denied an appeal for a Lake Charles man who was convicted of aggravated rape and sexual battery in 2016 and sentenced to life in prison and 25 years.
Robert Lee Sargent Sr., 59, was arrested in 2015. He began abusing the victim in 2009 when she was 6 years old and continued until 2015.
Two other victims, now adults, both said during Sargent’s trial that he abused them as children.
Prosecutor Adam Ortego said during the trial that one of the witnesses had informed the parents of the recent victim that she should not be left alone with Sargent.
Sargent was found guilty after a four-day trial and was sentenced by Judge Ron Ware on Jan. 25, 2017.
Ware said the rape conviction carried a mandatory life sentence, and the sexual battery conviction carried a mandatory minimum of 25 years. He ordered Sargent to serve the terms consecutively.
Last year, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal upheld Sargent’s convictions and sentences.