Convicted La. Child Molester Opts for Castration Over Jail Time

PORT ALLEN, La. (AP/The Blaze) – A convicted child molester in Louisiana has undergone surgical castration to win release from prison on parole.

Francis Phillip Tullier, 78, faced hundreds of molestation charges for abusing three girls, ages 6 to 12, during the 1970s and 80s.  Tullier agreed to plead guilty to three counts in 1999 and was sentenced to 27 years in prison.  But his plea deal allowed him to cut his prison sentence in half by undergoing voluntary castration, having his testicles surgically removed in exchange for parole after just 12 years behind bars.

According to news accounts, the operation took just 10 minutes and was done at Tullier's expense.

Tullier's lawyer, Nathan Fisher, told the Daily Mail, "They had enough [evidence] to send him up for two or three life sentences. He had no chance of getting out of prison unless we did something unusual."

According to court transcripts, the judge deemed the unorthodox punishment acceptable, saying, "It's time to give Caesar what Caesar is owed."

Without the operation, Tullier would have been in prison until 2024.  Once released, he will have to register with the state as a sex offender.

Major Richie Johnson of the West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office was happy with the outcome. "I'm not aware of any other cases of physical castrations in the state," he said, "but I wish we'd use it more often."