Former St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain
Former St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain has been booked on charges of rape, incest, indecent behavior with a juvenile, and sexual battery.
District Attorney Warren Montgomery says in the fall of 2017 he was presented with evidence that Strain had engaged in sex crimes.
“Mr. Strain deserves a speedy and fair trail by an impartial jury. If found guilty of the charges Mr. Strain will be sentenced to a mandatory charge of life in prison.”
The evidence was brought to Montgomery by Louisiana State Police, the FBI, and the IRS. The evidence arose out of a separate investigation into a work release kickback program that is still underway.
Legal analyst Tim Meche says Warren’s refusal to field questions was a good move, because the case has already become the talk of the parish, prompting concerns about whether the trial should even be held in St. Tammany.
“Clearly everybody will know about him, and these allegations. Nevertheless he has a lot of friends and supporters there still, so it will have to be a strategic decision.”
Strains 20 year run as parish sheriff ended in 2016.
Meche believes the case is quite defensible, because some of the allegations are more than 40 years old, and the alleged victims, according to media reports, appear to have credibility problems. He says the same charges may not have been brought against the average citizen…
“I believe the prosecutor had pressure on him because he would have been accused of covering up for a prominent politician.”
The indictments allege four separate victims, two under the age of 12. Some of the crimes are alleged to have occurred while Strain was in office
