A Louisiana man who was convicted of raping a child must undergo chemical castration and spend 35 years behind bars.
Ryan Clark, 34, pleaded guilty to felony charges of second-degree rape "when the victim is prevented from resisting due to force or threats," molestation of a juvenile under 13 and sexual battery, according to Tangipahoa Parish District Attorney Scott Perrilloux's office.
The first 25 years of his sentence is to be served without benefits, and he will receive credit for time served," Perrilloux's office says in a release. "He also must make no contact with the victims, register as a sex offender for life, forfeit all parental rights to all children and submit to chemical castration upon release."
After pleading guilty on March 1, Clark was sentenced on March 14, Perrilloux's office notes in its news release. Clark reportedly pleaded guilty a day after a jury was selected for his case.
As Perrilloux's office details in the news release, Clark was arrested in July 2020 just one day after the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office "was notified of indecent behavior between Clark and a juvenile by a person the victim had confided in."
The person who notified the sheriff's department about the indecent behavior explained that Clark had been engaged in that behavior for more than a year, Perrilloux's office says.
After that, the juvenile victim was interviewed at the "Children’s Advocacy Center," where they were able to "detail the incidents," according to the news release from the district attorney's office.
A possible second victim was also discovered," Perrilloux's office adds.
Clark has a prior conviction of "Misdemeanor Carnal Knowledge of a Juvenile for receiving oral sex in a public place from a minor," Perrilloux's office adds. Clark was reportedly sentenced to 128 days in jail for that offense in 2015.
Chemical castration is a treatment sexual offenders can undergo that makes them "no longer motivated to commit sex offenses and is more amenable to psychotherapy that can enable him to reintegrate into the community," according to the U.S Department of Justice's (DOJ) virtual library.
The class of sexual offenders known as paraphiliacs can be treated with an antiandrogenic drug called Medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) which chemically castrates the offender," the DOJ virtual library entry on chemical castration reads. "MPA treatment will minimize the offender's commitment as a sexual psychopath and allow him to continue his rehabilitation. Treatment with MPA could also be considered an acceptable condition for probation."
Clark will reportedly receive his chemical castration treatment before he is released from prison.