NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A
43-year-old suspended New Orleans Police officer accused of sexually assaulting
three teenagers dating back to the 1990s broke into tears as prosecutors sought
to again push back his trial date.
"This game gotta stop,
man!" said a tearful Desmond Pratt as he sat Tuesday in a jury box in
shackles and jail scrubs.
According to his attorney,
Robert Jenkins, Pratt had just rejected a deal from Orleans Parish District
Attorney Leon Cannizzaro's office to plead guilty in the case — a deal offered
on the morning the former homicide detective was scheduled for trial on
allegations that he molested three teenagers.
The New Orleans Advocate
reports (http://bit.ly/1kMA86Y) the most recent of the alleged incidents — a
sexual battery — took place a year ago. He's been in custody for 11 months for
the alleged molestations. He also faces charges of aggravated sexual assault
and carnal knowledge of a juvenile from earlier alleged incidents.
Prosecutor Jason Napoli told
Criminal District Judge Franz Zibilich that authorities were getting no help
from the mother of the purported victim in the most recent incident, and that
the mother has "consistently stifled our ability to prepare for
trial."
Zibilich granted a request to
subpoena the girl through her mother, who was in the courtroom. She later spoke
privately with Cannizzaro outside the courtroom, then with a group of Pratt's
supporters, leaving unclear whether she continues to press for Pratt's
prosecution. She declined to speak to a reporter.
Zibilich put off the trial
until April 1 and ordered Jenkins to submit an argument by Monday on whether,
and under what circumstances, a videotaped statement from the girl could be
used at a trial.
Pratt has been in jail since
April. Zibilich reduced his bond in November from $500,000 to $400,000 but
refused to lower it further despite at least two trial delays. The judge said
there appeared to be no new evidence that warranted a bond reduction.
During Tuesday's court appearance,
Zibilich turned to Pratt and urged him to consider agreeing to a deal. He noted
that the most serious allegation could bring a sentence as high as 20 years if
Pratt is convicted.
"I'm not going to say
there's a reverse presumption (of guilt)," Zibilich said, but "some
jurors come in and say, 'Why would this little girl lie?' 'Why are these women
lying?' "
He told Pratt, "You're at
risk here."
Before his arrest, Pratt worked
in the Sixth District. Prior to that, as a homicide detective, he was a key
figure in the investigation of crimes now pinned on alleged drug lord Telly
Hankton, who is serving a life prison sentence for his conviction in a 2008
murder.
How Pratt's legal troubles
might affect that case is unclear.
Jenkins declined outside the
courtroom to specify the plea deal offered by prosecutors. Christopher Bowman,
a spokesman for Cannizzaro's office, also declined to elaborate, citing a
policy against commenting on open cases.