Mom, priests plead for probation for admitted pedophile

Admittedly sexually assaulting a 9-year-old child, Randall Boudreaux stood before Jefferson County Criminal District Court Judge John Stevens on June 5 to plead for probation as penance for his crimes against the young victim. 

Boudreaux didn’t come alone with his request, as a parade of family and friends offered support in person and through written letters to the court as to the defendant’s stellar character – except for this instance. 

“This instance,” according to Boudreaux himself, was at least two separate sexual assaults of a 9-year-old child. Evidence presented in court alleged that Boudreaux actually assaulted the child many times over a six-year period, beginning when the victim was 3-years-old. 

Boudreaux’s mother, a 52-year-old grandmother of five, testified on behalf of her son, and said she performs outreach to the homeless and on behalf of her native “tribe,” and wouldn’t hesitate to trust the admitted pedophile with any of those charged under her care.

“He’s very kind, generous,” she described of her son in the face of questioning from that court as to her knowledge of Boudreaux’s admitted crimes. “Him and (his child) are very close.”

Pressed harder to address “the elephant in the room,” the family matriarch said that knowing her son pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault of a child did nothing to sway unwavering support to her son’s release from jail; her opinion of him stood fast. 

“I would,” she later said, trust Boudreaux will all of her grandchildren. “I would ask the judge to give him probation.”

Boudreaux’s aunt, who stated she’s been around “his whole life,” chimed in to say that she was also fully aware of her nephew’s crime, but still described him as a trustworthy person she would allow around her own small children.

A “spiritual mentor, someone to help him throughout his life,” would be sufficient to ensure Boudreaux’s compliance in the public, she said, also asking that the judge give the defendant probation. Spiritual mentorship in the form of a letter from the family’s priest was presented to the court, as well, which described Boudreaux as “a good-hearted, kind soul who helps all and is a good father to his son.” 

“He’s remorseful,” penned remarks to the court continued, although the author’s name was not divulged – only the position. “He is a young man… a brother and a friend to many… He has goals.”

Prosecutor Kim Duchamp asked no questions of the family there to support the defendant, but refused to allow their assertions of the accused to go without a fact-check from the District Attorney’s Office.

“To believe the defendant is a good person who made one mistake,” is preposterous, Duchamp asserted, pointing to years of abuse that began when the victim was a toddler. “He is a monster who sexually abused a child from the age of 3 to the age of 9, and only stopped because he got caught.”

According to the prosecutor, Boudreaux’s pubic hairs were located in the victim’s panties when the child was examined by Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) professionals in 2019. 

Two SANE exams were described by the veteran professionals “as the worst injuries they’ve ever seen on a child,” Duchamp added.

“They were so concerned about the victim’s exam that she was transferred to Texas Children’s Hospital to make sure she doesn’t have permanent nerve damage,” Duchamp advised the court while the defendant’s mother looked on. “It is rare to have injuries – let alone the number of injuries in this case. This was torture. 

“This was painful – every single time it happened.”

Duchamp said that Texas law only allowed for Boudreaux to be charged with the sexual assaults that occurred locally; and the family had only relocated to Texas two weeks before Boudreaux was caught in the act of sexually assaulting the then 9-year-old child. 

“There is evidence of sociopathic behavior,” Duchamp said. “This wasn’t a one-time mistake. This was ongoing abuse – for years and years of this child’s life.”

Boudreaux was charged with two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child in 2019, and entered a guilty plea to one charge of aggravated sexual assault of a child prior to court on Monday. In return, the second charge of aggravated sexual assault of a child was dropped, and an agreement was made to cap punishment at 25 years’ imprisonment, with the possibility that court grant as little as two years’ probation. In the face of Boudreaux supporters asking for the minimum, Duchamp sought the max.

“I try not to fault the family and friends writing letters of support,” Duchamp said. “I try to remember they don’t know everything that I know.”

Boudreaux addressed the court in his own defense, claiming he was under the influence of alcohol when the assaults occurred. 

“I am remorseful about what I did,” Boudreaux said, of sexually assaulting a 9-year-old child. “It was probably two times – not many.”

At the conclusion of the hearing, Boudreaux was sentenced to the maximum 25-year prison term allowed under the agreement with prosecution. 

If Boudreaux had gone to trial and been found guilty, he would have faced anywhere from five to 99 years of life in prison.

 — Jennifer Johnson, Managing Editor