TANGIPAHOA PARISH, La. – A man in Louisiana who was convicted of raping a girl under the age of 13 was sentenced to 35 years in prison and will be chemically castrated. Ryan Clark received his fate from Judge Brian Ables on Tuesday, according to WVUE.
Clark, 34, pleaded guilty on March 1 to second-degree rape, molestation of a juvenile under 13, and sexual battery. In addition to his prison sentence and chemical castration, he was also ordered to register as a sex offender, forfeit all parental rights to any children, and not have any contact with the victim, according to Tangipahoa Parish District Attorney Scott Perrilloux.
Chemical castration became legal in Louisiana in 2008 as a sentencing option for those found guilty of specific crimes, including molestation of a juvenile, aggravated rape, forcible rape, second-degree sexual battery, aggravated incest, and aggravated crime against nature, WVUE reported.
The process involves injections of medroxyprogesterone acetate — a drug that suppresses a man’s sex drive by depleting testosterone levels, the outlet reported.
The injections are to be administered at least one week before a convicted sex offender is released from prison.
According to the New York Post, Clark was previously convicted in 2015 of misdemeanor carnal knowledge of a juvenile for receiving oral sex in a public place from a minor. He served 128 days in the Tangipahoa Parish Jail.
