Louisiana man to be chemically castrated after being convicted of raping a child

A Louisiana man who was convicted of raping a child will be chemically castrated before he is released back into society.

The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office began investigating 34-year-old Ryan Clark in July 2020 after authorities were tipped off about sex crime allegations involving a juvenile. The victim informed police that Clark had engaged in sexual misconduct for more than a year. During the investigation, police discovered a possible second victim with help from the Children’s Advocacy Center.

Tangipahoa Parish District Attorney Scott Perrilloux said in a statement, "Clark also has a prior conviction of misdemeanor carnal knowledge of a juvenile for receiving oral sex in a public place from a minor. He was sentenced to 128 days in the parish jail for that charge in 2015."

Clark was arrested by the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office on July 17. On Feb. 12, 2021, Clark was indicted by a grand jury for sexual battery, molestation of a juvenile, and first-degree rape when the victim is under 13.

On March 1, 2023, Clark pleaded guilty to felony charges of second-degree rape, molestation of a juvenile under 13, and sexual battery. Clark was sentenced to 35 years in prison – the first 25 years he would not be eligible for parole.

As part of his sentence, Judge Brian Ables ruled that the convicted pedophile will also need to register as a sex offender for life, never contact his victims, forfeit all parental rights to all children, and be chemically castrated before he gets out of prison.

In 2008, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal signed Senate Bill 144 into law, allowing judges to force convicted rapists and other sexual offenders to undergo chemical castration.

The Department of Justice notes that chemical castration can be used on paraphiliacs – individuals with "persistent and recurrent sexual interests, urges, fantasies, or behaviors of marked intensity involving objects, activities, or even situations that are atypical in nature."

"The class of sexual offenders known as paraphiliacs can be treated with an antiandrogenic drug called medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), which chemically castrates the offender," according to the DOJ's Office of Justice Programs.

"The paraphiliac offender undergoing this treatment is no longer motivated to commit sex offenses and is more amenable to psychotherapy that can enable him to reintegrate into the community," the Department of Justice states. "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."

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