Guilty! Byron Toups, Destrehan, Louisiana (arrested Mar 2008)

Discussion in 'Tomcats' started by TMP, Oct 5, 2014.

  1. TMP

    TMP Himself

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    Byron Toups, 39, band director at Destrehan High School, St. Charles Parish Public Schools, Destrehan, Louisiana, "charges of molestation of a juvenile, indecent behavior with a juvenile and simple battery"

    The earliest mention I can find of this case is a federal civil lawsuit filed in February, 2008, which was followed by the police investigation and arrest. So apparently it took a federal lawsuit to get the local authorities up off their butts to deal with the child molester in their high school.

    Liability

    14 Feb 2008

    Byron Toups, a band teacher of Destrehan High School, repeatedly had sex with an 18-year-old student, and the principal, Lorel Gonzales, knew it but took no steps to stop him, the young woman claims in New Orleans Federal Court. She also sued the St. Charles Parish School Board.

    http://www.courthousenews.com/2008/02/14/New_Complaints.htm


    St. Charles Parish educators with issues:
    Tags:
     
    Byron Toups, Destrehan High School, St. Charles Parish Public Schools, Destrehan, Louisiana
    Last edited: Oct 5, 2014
  2. TMP

    TMP Himself

    Destrehan High School Band Director Arrested

    18 March 2008

    39-year-old Byron Toups is accused of having sexual intercourse with a 16-year-old student at his home. Deputies say in a separate incident, Toups allegedly tried to kiss a 17-year-old student during band camp at the school last summer, but the teen was unwilling.

    http://www.wafb.com/story/8034631/destrehan-high-school-band-director-arrested
     
  3. TMP

    TMP Himself

    Destrehan band director arrested on sex charges

    18 March 2008

    Destrehan band director Byron Toups was arrested by the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office this morning and charged with molestation of a juvenile, indecent behavior with a juvenile and simple battery. Toups allegedly had sex with a 16-year-old student at his home, and in a separate incident last summer, allegedly attempted to kiss an unwilling 17-year-old student during band camp at Destrehan High School.

    http://www.heraldguide.com/details.php?id=3742
     
  4. TMP

    TMP Himself

    So it appears there were three victims, two covered by the civil action, one by the criminal complaints.

    Destrehan High School band teacher to appear in court

    19 March 2008

    A Destrehan High School band director who was arrested for having sex with a 16-year-old student is scheduled to appear in court for a bond hearing today before 29th Judicial District Judge Kirk Granier. Byron Toups, 39, of Des Allemands, was arrested Tuesday at the school during his break from teaching classes. He was booked with molestation of a juvenile, indecent behavior with a juvenile and simple battery involving two female students. Toups is charged with having sex with a 16-year-old student in his home during the 2006-07 school year, St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office spokesman Capt. Pat Yoes said.

    ...

    In another incident, Toups allegedly tried to kiss a 17-year-old student during a band camp at Destrehan High School last summer. Alvin Bordelon Jr., Toups' attorney in a civil suit pending against him by that 17-year-old student and an 18-year-old former student, said Tuesday that Toups denies the charges.

    ...

    Yoes said sheriff's deputies had been investigating a complaint about Toups since November. "Somebody came forward recently and gave the information we needed," he said. That "somebody" was the 16-year-old student who was located with the help of the Metropolitan Crime Commission. "We were contacted by a victim" who already filed a complaint with St. Charles authorities, crime commission President Rafael Goyeneche said Tuesday. The person gave the commission information about someone who had been in a relationship with Toups and who had moved out of state, Goyeneche said. The information was passed on to the Sheriff's Office. "They investigated the matter, and the result was he was arrested today," Goyeneche said.


    In a suit filed in federal district court in New Orleans in February, an 18-year-old former student claims she and Toups had sex several times in 2007 at school and at his house. No criminal charges have been filed in connection with that allegation.

    A 17-year-old band student also claims in the suit that Toups sexually harassed her last school year during a summer camp held at the school. The allegations by the 17-year-old were investigated last year by the school system and the St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office. At that time, both agencies said they lacked enough evidence to take action against Toups. On Tuesday, the St. Charles Parish School Board issued a statement saying the board was initiating its own investigation. The release said appropriate action would be taken.

    http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/03/destrehan_high_school_teacher.html
     
  5. TMP

    TMP Himself

    Destrehan High School band teacher indicted

    25 March 2008

    A grand jury indicted Destrehan High School band and music teacher Byron Toups today on felony charges of molestation of a juvenile, intimidation of a witness and a misdemeanor charge of simple battery, according the St. Charles Parish District Attorney's Office. The molestation charges stem from allegations that Toups, 39, of Des Allemands, had sex with a 16-year-old student at his home during the 2006-2007 school year.


    The battery charge is in connection with allegations that Toups tried to kiss a 17-year-old student at a band camp at Destrehan High School last summer. District court judge Kirk Granier issued an arrest warrant for Toups and set a $25,000 bond in connection with a new charge of witness intimidation that was included in the indictment. That charge, according to the indictment, is because Toups allegedly held the 17-year-old against her will in a locked room and told her not to tell about his attempts to have physical/sexual contact with her.

    http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2009/08/former_destrehan_band_teacher.html
     
  6. TMP

    TMP Himself

    Former Destrehan band teacher pleads guilty to battery and intimidation

    19 Aug 2009

    Former Destrehan High School band teacher Byron Toups pleaded guilty Wednesday to malfeasance, intimidation of a witness and simple battery involving two students at the school. Toups originally was charged with molestation, intimidation of a witness and simple battery in connection with allegations that he had sex with a 16-year-old student and tried to kiss a 17-year-old student after locking the door to a room at the high school during the 2006-2007 school year.

    http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2009/08/former_destrehan_band_teacher.html
     
  7. TMP

    TMP Himself

    Band teacher pleads guilty to illegal behavior with female student

    22 Oct 2009

    A former band teacher pled guilty to charges of illegal behavior with a pair of female students while he was working at Destrehan High school. Byron Toups, 40 of Des Allemands, pled guilty to felony charges of malfeasance, intimidation of a witness and a misdemeanor charge of simple battery in St. Charles Parish before Judge Lauren Lemmon. Toups was given a five-year suspended sentence and five years of active probation with the special condition that he serve a year in jail at the parish prison and six months of home incarceration thereafter.

    A statement of facts read into the record said that Toups took the victim into the nurse's room at Destrehan High and pressed his body against her while trying to kiss her behind a locked door without her consent. The record said that Toups then grabbed her hands and told her she would regret it if she told anyone what had happened.

    http://www.wwltv.com/story/news/local/2014/08/25/14267774/
     
  8. TMP

    TMP Himself

    Former Destrehan band teacher back in jail after probation violation

    2 Sept 2010

    Former Destrehan High School band teacher Byron Toups was back in jail Tuesday after a St. Charles Parish judge found that he had violated probation after authorities say he broke into a woman's home in Napoleonville. Judge M. Lauren Lemmon of the 24th Judicial District revoked Toups' probation Tuesday at the request of the state Department of Probation after Toups, of Des Allemands, allegedly violated the terms by being booked with simple burglary, simple battery and trespassing after being found in the woman's home in June ... The woman declined to cooperate with prosecutors on the stalking charge even after she was subpoenaed to appear in court on the matter. Prosecutors were forced to drop that case, Babin said.

    http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2010/09/former_destrehan_band_teacher_1.html
     
  9. TMP

    TMP Himself

    Former Destrehan High band teacher Byron Toups out of jail after appeals court ruling

    16 Feb 2011

    But a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed that decision, finding that Lemmon did not set any terms for his home incarceration.
    "Because the conditions of (Toups') home incarceration were not specified, the trial court erred in revoking (Toups') probation for violating the conditions of home incarceration," the ruling said. The court found that in addition to specifying the conditions in the court record, Toups should have been required to agree in writing to the terms. The court also found that his probation could not be revoked based on alleged crimes.

    As a result, Toups will pick up where he left off in serving his sentence, finishing the approximately two months of home incarceration he had left before being arrested and the rest of his probation.

    http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2011/02/former_destrehan_high_band_tea.html
     
  10. NolaSO

    NolaSO Registered Member

    you are so right... It did take the federal lawsuit for the school or police to do anything about this. One of the victims was told by police as soon as she made her statement that someone would be done ... however, the police went back and did absolutely nothing. If it were not for the lawsuit, this man would still be teaching and raping students at DHS
     
  11. NolaSO

    NolaSO Registered Member

    There were actually 4 victims. Victim 1- never filed lawsuit, never got criminal justice
    Victim 2- filed lawsuit, never got criminal justice, because she was 18 when it happened, even though non-consensual sex occurred, like actual rape
    Victim 3- somewhat got criminal justice --if u call a slap on the wrist justice for giving alcohol to a 16 year old prior to having sex with her
    Victim 4- civil and criminal justice
     
  12. TMP

    TMP Himself

    Thank you for the additional details.