UPDATE: Story revised to include comment from the Attorney General's office.
During a Legislative committee meeting Tuesday, State Senator Bodi White mentioned that he has been shown videos of small children being raped while he was at the Attorney General’s Sex Crime Unit.
The senator called the videos “repulsive” and said they resulted in him backing tougher sentences for convicted child rapists, but the revelation has led to questions about why he was allowed access to the videos, and why he watched them. The state Democratic Party retweeted a comment from a Capitol reporter questioning the situation’s legality.
The comment by White, a Baton Rouge Republican, raised eyebrows after the committee meeting. It was made during discussion of legislation by Baton Rouge State Senator Regina Barrow that would have allowed judges to order people who are found guilty of raping children younger than 13 years old to chemical castration.
When asked about Sen. White’s comments, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry’s office spokesman Corey Dennis responded:
“The most horrific crimes our office sees involve the abuse and exploitation of children and the use of the internet to proliferate these crimes.
We occasionally brief legislators about these issues and things that our investigators are exposed to.
Any questions related to the specifics of the comments made by Senator White could be best answered by the Senator.
The Attorney General's office has arrested and prosecuted hundreds of predators, and we will not waiver in our efforts to protect Louisiana's children.”
White said watching the video/s led him to support Barrow’s bill. Barrow’s legislation was ultimately shelved amid concerns about the sentence being irreversible in the event that a convicted individual were to have their sentence overturned.
White’s office has not responded to a request for comment.
Here’s the full comments by White in Senate Judiciary C Tuesday.
