Brandon Justin Lee Williams was sentenced October 26 to 56 years at hard labor following his conviction in a rape and domestic abuse case investigated by Slidell police, District Attorney J. Collin Sims announced Tuesday.
Williams, 38, of New Orleans, received four consecutive sentences from Judge Tara Farris Zeller. The order requires the terms to run one after another rather than at the same time.
The longest term was 40 years for second degree rape, without eligibility for probation, parole or suspension of sentence. Zeller also imposed three years for domestic abuse battery involving serious bodily injury, three years for domestic abuse battery involving child endangerment and 10 years for cruelty to juveniles, according to the district attorney’s October 27 release.
A St. Tammany Parish jury found Williams guilty on all counts September 23. Prosecutors said the case followed a Slidell Police Department investigation into multiple incidents of domestic abuse and sexual violence.
Williams did not appear for the verdict and fled, the district attorney’s office said. The U.S. Marshals Service apprehended him in Lake Charles on October 6, before Monday’s sentencing.
A victim assistance coordinator presented the survivor’s statement to the court on her behalf. APR is not identifying the survivor or the children involved.
Assistant District Attorneys Zachary Popovich and Taylor Nicholson prosecuted the case. The release did not provide information about any appeal.
