NEW ORLEANS — A man was convicted Thursday of several sex crimes with a child who was younger than 13 years old, St. Bernard Parish officials said in a statement. He faces up to 124 years in prison, for his crimes.
Hugh Gilliam, 32, was found guilty by a jury of his peers after they deliberated for about three hours, convicting him of inappropriate behavior with and sexual battery of a child younger than 13 years old.
The St. Bernard Parish District Attorney's Office said that Gilliam's victim was "a complete stranger."
District Attorney Perry Nicosia said Gilliam terrified a vulnerable victim who had the courage to confront Gilliam in court.
Gilliam faces between 2 and 25 years of hard labor for the indecent behavior charge and between 25 and 99 years of hard labor for the sexual battery charge.
In Louisiana, Gilliam's sexual battery of a juvenile conviction means he'll be monitored electronically for the rest of his life after he's released, Revised Statue 14:43.1 says. The charge means the incident included intentional genital or anal touching.
Louisiana law defines indecent behavior with children as any communication meant to sexually arouse or gratify either the adult or the child, according to Louisiana Revised Statute 14:81
"I'm pleased with the guilty verdicts on both counts handed down by the St. Bernard jurors," Nicosia said in the statement.
WWLTV reached out to the district attorney and sheriff's office in St. Bernard Parish for more details about the crime, but neither office has responded.
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