A Morgan City man will be surgically castrated and spend 35 years in prison after pleading guilty to second degree rape and other child sexual abuse charges, in one of the first applications of a Louisiana law that made the state the only one in the nation to authorize the punishment. Carrol Clark pleaded guilty to second degree rape, two counts of pornography involving juveniles when the victim is under 13, and two counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile, officials said. He will also register as a sex offender for life.
96.5 KPEL reports that the plea and sentence were announced by the office of Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, according to the outlet's report. The case originated in 2024, when the Center for Missing and Exploited Children provided a tip that led investigators to Clark, who was suspected of uploading and distributing child pornography. Louisiana Bureau of Investigation agents executed a search warrant at his home and found evidence that he was uploading and distributing child sexual abuse material, per the report.
Investigators determined that Clark had sex with a minor girl on multiple occasions and that he took photos and videos of the child, the outlet reported. Following his arrest, Clark was transported and booked into the Assumption Parish Jail, according to the District Attorney 16th Judicial District. His guilty plea was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Lana Chaney and accepted by Judge Jason Verdigets in August, the district attorney's office said.
How Louisiana's Castration Law Applies
The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections is responsible for carrying out Clark's castration, the case record shows. His sentence relies on Act 651, which Governor Jeff Landry signed into law in June 2024, making Louisiana the first state in the country to authorize court-ordered surgical castration for people convicted of severe sex crimes against victims under age 13, according to PBS. The statute, which covers offenses defined under state law R.S. 15:541 committed against children under 13, took effect on August 1, 2024, per the Louisiana State Legislature.
Under Louisiana Revised Statute 14:43.7, an offender who refuses a court order to undergo surgical castration faces an additional three to five years in prison without the possibility of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence, according to a legal analysis published by Dickinson Law Insight. To actually perform court-ordered surgical castrations, state corrections officials plan to contract with offsite, board-certified urologists once a court-appointed expert evaluates whether an inmate is medically suitable for the procedure, according to the Albany Law Review.
A Shift From Chemical to Surgical Punishment
Louisiana has allowed chemical castration using hormone-suppressing medication since 2008 under R.S. 14:43.6, though judges rarely applied that option before the 2024 surgical law passed, per the Louisiana Law Review. While states including California, Florida, and Texas allow chemical castration, Louisiana is alone among U.S. states in authorizing physical surgical castration, aligning its penal code with select international jurisdictions such as the Czech Republic and South Korea, according to Völkerrechtsblog.
The underlying legislation, Senate Bill 371, was co-authored by Baton Rouge Senator Regina Barrow and New Orleans Representative Delisha Boyd and passed both houses of the Louisiana Legislature with more than 70 percent approval in 2024, the Louisiana Law Review reports. Data cited by the Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault, as noted in the same review, indicates that roughly one in four girls and one in six boys in the state will experience sexual abuse or misconduct before turning 18 — a statistic that lawmakers pointed to as justification for the law's overwhelming legislative support.
