A St. Tammany Parish jury convicted 38-year-old New Orleans resident Brandon Justin Lee Williams on every count he faced, including second-degree rape, domestic-abuse battery involving serious bodily injury, domestic-abuse battery involving child endangerment and cruelty to juveniles — but Williams was nowhere in the courtroom to hear the verdict. He attended the first day of his trial, then failed to return for day two, and jurors returned their guilty findings in his absence.
The verdict came down on Sept. 23, according to a statement from the St. Tammany Parish District Attorney's Office, which said Williams had voluntarily absented himself once the trial was already underway. When he didn't show, Judge Tara Farris Zeller issued a warrant for his arrest, and as WWL-TV reports, authorities are now working with the U.S. Marshals Service and local law enforcement to track him down.
Under Louisiana law, a defendant can still be tried after the proceedings begin even if he walks out, regardless of whether the court explicitly warned him he was required to stay, according to the Louisiana State Legislature. That provision is effectively what allowed the trial, and ultimately the conviction, to proceed without Williams present for the back half of it.
Case Traces Back to a Slidell Home in 2024
The prosecution's case grew out of an October 2024 Slidell Police Department investigation into repeated reports of domestic abuse at a residence on Highlands Drive, according to the district attorney's office. Investigators said they obtained a statement from the adult victim, conducted forensic interviews with her two minor children, and reviewed text messages that documented physical abuse and child endangerment.
Prosecutors told the court that Williams repeatedly forced the victim into sexual acts while she was under extreme emotional distress and physical intimidation, per the district attorney's office account. During opening statements, Assistant District Attorney Zachary Popovich described a pattern of coercive control, saying the woman was trapped in a cycle of abuse and that the violence escalated when she tried to defend herself, according to WWL-TV.
District Attorney Calls Him a Dangerous Fugitive
District Attorney Collin Sims said the jury's verdict held Williams accountable for his crimes, but stressed the job isn't finished while he remains unaccounted for. “He is a dangerous individual, and we are working tirelessly with local authorities and the U.S. Marshals Service to locate him,” Sims said, according to the district attorney's office statement.
Sims said Williams fled justice and remains at large, and authorities have asked anyone with information about his whereabouts to contact the U.S. Marshals Service or local law enforcement. The Marshals Service can be reached at 1-877-WANTED2 (926-8332), per WWL-TV's reporting.
Convictions handed down while a defendant is absent are unusual but not unheard of. In a 2003 case covered by Slate, cosmetics heir Andrew Luster skipped his own rape trial and was later captured in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, after being convicted in absentia. The Brooklyn District Attorney's Office documented a similar outcome in 2016, when a defendant who fled during jury deliberations was convicted and sentenced in absentia before eventually being captured and brought back to court.
No information has been released about Williams' sentence, his current location or whether he has been taken into custody since the verdict. For now, St. Tammany Parish prosecutors say the search continues.
