Juvenile detention case settles

After meeting for close to two hours in chambers with the judge who had presided over the case, attorneys on both sides of a case brought as a result of sexual abuse at its juvenile detention center acknowledged agreement on a settlement.

The details of the agreement, however, have not been publicly disclosed.

State District Judge George Larke announced the settlement from the bench March 18, after the extended meeting. Less than a week prior to that, the Terrebonne Parish Council voted to accept the advice of its counsel in regard to the case. While parish officials would not speak openly about the matter because it followed a legally permitted secret session, sources close to the case had indicated the purpose of the vote was to authorize settlement.

Larke also said the case record – with the exception of certain redactions to protect the identities of the woman who brought the suit, her family and other victims – would remain intact and available for public view.

The case, Mary Doe v. Terrebonne Parish, arose from the actions of Angelo Vickers, a detention center guard now serving a 7-year prison sentence for a single count of child molestation to which he pleaded guilty. Vickers is also a defendant in the suit.

The case drew national attention when attorneys for the parish stated in court documents that the plaintiff’s own actions – when she was 14 – were a contributing factor to the abuse that she suffered.

Over the next few weeks, attorneys will work out final details.