NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — The Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office (OPDA) has successfully secured a unanimous guilty verdict in a Third Degree Rape case from July 2019.
Deputy Chief of Trials Lilian Hangartner and Assistant District Attorney (ADA) Samantha Stagias led the case, with resulted in defendant Joshua Riley being convicted of a rape that took place in the French Quarter.
“From Day 1, we have been committed to holding those who choose to wreak havoc in our community accountable for their actions. The conviction of this defendant is proof of this commitment to the people of New Orleans,” said District Attorney Williams.
“This conviction would not have been possible without the meticulous investigative work of Detective Brandon McDonald as well as expert testimonies from Louisiana State Police Crime Lab and University Medical Center. I have said it before and I will continue to say it – we cannot prosecute cases without sufficient evidence. In this case, the quality of evidence gathered, coupled with the vigorous prosecutorial work of ADAs Hangartner and Stagias, led to a predator in our community being held to account. I am proud that justice was served for this victim and her family.”
According to NOPD reports, the defendant picked the intoxicated victim up from the floor of a local bar, carried her to his car, and raped her.
After a week of trial, the jury found that the victim was too intoxicated to consent to sexual intercourse and the defendant knew or should have known of her inability to consent.
The sentencing date is set for June 2022.