A 61-year-old Maurepas man will spend the next 25 years in prison and undergo chemical castration after pleading guilty to sexually battering a child under 13 who was living in his home. John Wesley Foster entered his plea on Oct. 26, and the case closes out a investigation that Livingston Parish deputies opened three years ago after the child came forward.
According to a press release from District Attorney Scott Perrilloux's office reported by klfy.com, Foster was sentenced to 25 years in the Louisiana Department of Corrections and will also be required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life. The case was heard before Judge William Dykes, and Assistant District Attorney Amanda Liotto handled the prosecution for the state.
The Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office launched its investigation in 2023 after the child disclosed the abuse, and Detective Dustin Covington carried out that investigation. Deputies determined that Foster was staying in the same house as the victim at the time the offenses occurred, a detail first reported by an17.com.
Prosecutors Praise the Child's Courage
Perrilloux commended the child who came forward and reported the abuse, saying in the statement that those who harm children must be held accountable and that it takes tremendous courage for a child to speak up about this kind of abuse. He also praised Liotto for working diligently to bring the case to its conclusion.
Liotto echoed that sentiment in her own remarks, saying she hoped the child's bravery would encourage other victims to speak up and know that they, too, will be heard and supported. Her comments, along with Perrilloux's, were included in the same press release carried by the district attorney's office.
Chemical Castration Orders Are Becoming More Common, But Rarely Carried Out
Foster's sentence is not an isolated use of chemical castration in Louisiana courts. A Walker man was sentenced to 30 years in prison and made subject to chemical castration before release after pleading no contest to sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl, according to the Livingston Parish News. In Bossier City, Robert Bridges, 42, was sentenced to life in prison and ordered to undergo chemical castration after a jury convicted him of repeatedly raping a child under 13, as reported by KTBS. That request came from the Bossier/Webster District Attorney's Office, and the judge granted it.
But whether these orders are actually enforced is another matter. The Louisiana Department of Corrections has no records of chemical castration being administered anywhere in the state, according to the Louisiana Illuminator. A department spokesperson told the outlet the agency has no staff member or contractor on hand to perform surgical castrations, and a district attorney's chief of staff said judges in his jurisdiction had included chemical castration in two recent sex-offender convictions, yet neither sentence had actually been carried out.
The gap between sentencing and execution isn't limited to chemical procedures. In Assumption Parish, Carrol Ray Clark agreed to a 35-year prison sentence and surgical castration after pleading guilty to several sex offenses, the Illuminator reported, underscoring how often these court-ordered procedures remain unresolved long after a case is closed. For Foster's case, when or whether the chemical castration order will be carried out has not been established.
