While Americans are growing uncomfortably accustomed to light sentencing and increasingly brazen criminals, one judge agreed to impose a sentence on the more stern side of the spectrum. A Louisiana man, Glenn Sullivan Sr., 54, of Springfield pled guilty to four counts of second-degree rape earlier this month. Sullivan repeatedly raped and impregnated a 14-year-old girl, and will be surgically castrated while serving out a 50-year prison sentence handed down by Judge William Dyke. 

Assistant District Attorney Brad Cascio told WBRz:

I want to say I've had three people ordered to be chemically castrated but, to my knowledge, this is the first physical castration to be ordered.

The prosecutor pushed for the procedure as part of the sentence based on Sullivan's criminal history and the severity of the case, saying:

I felt that this case was a strong enough case and warranted such action.

He noted that since the sexual crime was against a child it was especially malicious, saying:

Sex crimes against juveniles are the most malicious crimes we prosecute. I intend on using every tool the legislature is willing to give us, including physical castration, to seek justice for the children in our community.

The case stems from a July 2022 investigation when a young woman told  Livingston Parish Sheriff’s detectives that Sullivan had raped her multiple times when she was just 14-years-old. As a result, the juvenile became pregnant, and a DNA test was ordered, proving Sullivan had impregnated her. Sullivan had groomed the victim and used threats of violence against her and her family to prevent the young woman from coming forward about the rapes. 

In a statement, 21st Judicial District Attorney Scott M. Perrilloux said:

So many of these types of cases go unreported because of fear. The strength it must have taken for this young woman to tell the truth in the face of threats and adversity is truly incredible.

Legislation enacted in 2008 gives the state the power to "chemically castrate" sex offenders if convicted of certain crimes by using a drug called medroxyprogesterone acetate. The law also allows a male inmate to be physically castrated if he files a written motion with the court showing that he “intelligently and knowingly, gives his voluntary consent to physical castration as an alternative to the treatment.” In Sullivan's case, he has agreed to the surgical procedure.

The law mandates that the procedure, to be carried out by the Department of Corrections, must be completed at least a week before an inmate is released from custody.

Cascio reports that the timeline for the surgery is up in the air, saying:

It has to be done no later than one week prior to his release, so they could do it immediately or they could wait.

A bill in the Louisiana legislature authored by Democrat Senator Regina Barrow pushes the sentence to apply to more crimes. The proposed law would allow a judge to order surgical castration without the defendant's consent if the victim is under the age of 13. The bill allows the punishment to be applied to less violent sex crimes like child pornography and video voyeurism.

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