NEW documents have alleged that a cop informant sent to bust a drug den instead became a rape victim after other officers left her alone.
The woman was wearing a microphone and hidden camera when she approached the drug house and a dealer known as "Mississippi" in Alexandria, Louisiana in January 2021.
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But the operation went awry when the dealer, a career criminal with a decades-long rap sheet, allegedly forced the woman to perform oral sex him multiple times.
The attack was captured on the microphone and camera the woman was wearing.
The woman was allegedly threatened by the dealer with violence during the attack, which he paused to conduct a drug deal, according to interviews and police records obtained by The Associated Press.
He allegedly threatened to put her "in the hospital," the AP reports.
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"It was one of the worst depictions of sexual abuse I have ever seen," a local official with knowledge of the case told the AP.
"Just the audio from it is enough to turn your stomach," the official said.
"It’s a female being sexually brutalized while she’s crying and whimpering."
But the narcotics deputies who remained nearby were unaware of the brutal attack.
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Officials told the AP that the possibility of such an attack didn't occur to them.
They also said that the devices the woman was equipped with weren't capable of transmitting the operation to authorities in real time.
"It was recording but not to where my guys were monitoring it," Rapides Parish Sheriff Mark Wood said.
He blamed the incident on the fact that he had only been the sheriff for six months when the attack occurred.
"There are always things you learn that you can do better," he said.
SHE 'MUST BE OK'
The woman eventually left the area of the attack on her own and contacted her handlers, who then had deputies search the home.
Antonio D. Jones, 48, was arrested on charges of second-degree rape, false imprisonment, and distribution of meth, according to records.
The responding deputies who searched the home after the woman went inside figured she "must be OK," because a customer entered to purchase drugs after she had entered, Lieutenant Mark Parker, the ranking officer behind the operation, said.
Parker told the AP that until the woman was allegedly raped, the sheriff's office had not used equipment that monitors events in real time.
He said that informants would often be sent into stings with no equipment at all.
"We've always done it this way," Parker said.
"She was an addict and we just used her as an informant like we’ve done a million times before. Looking back, it's easy to say, 'What if?'"
'ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE'
Confidential informants are often used by law enforcement to help "work off" their own criminal charges, the AP reports.
It's not clear what type of deal this woman had with the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office.
However, just weeks after her alleged rape, she was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, which stemmed from an arrest about a month before the incident.
The woman also faced previous drug paraphernalia charges and was placed in behavioral health court instead of going to jail.
"It’s absolutely horrible," said her attorney, Harold Murry.
"She has a drug problem and I don’t know if she’s going to be able to beat it or not. But when you become a snitch, they keep your drug problem going and then they arrest you for it."
NO DISCIPLINE
None of the officials involved in the undercover Louisiana sting faced discipline, according to the sheriff.
Additionally, no other law enforcement agencies examined the case.
According to a spokesperson for the Alexandria Police Department, they were not made aware of the alleged rape.
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Jones, who refused a plea offer, is scheduled to stand trial on October 17.
His charges have been lessened, resulting in less time behind bars if convicted, the AP reports.
