PONCHATOULA - A corruption watchdog told WBRZ Tuesday he's requesting an outside law enforcement entity to come in and review the case where a rape victim was ordered to pay her perpetrator child support.
Less than 24 hours after the WBRZ Investigative Unit aired the story, District Attorney Scott Perrilloux also told WBRZ he is reviewing the case. Prior to today, DA Scott Perrilloux said his office had not received anything on it.
Monday night, we introduced you to
Crysta Abelseth. It's one of the most egregious cases victims advocates tell the WBRZ Investigative Unit they have ever seen, after a judge awarded full custody to a woman's abuser and forced her to pay child support.
"I've been doing this a long time," Rafael Goyeneche with the Metropolitan Crime Commission said. "I've never seen anything like this. This is confounding and deeply disturbing."
Goyeneche was so disturbed by the investigation, he requested outside law enforcement to come in and look into it.
"That's why I'm making a referral to another agency today, for them to take a fresh look at it to see if it rises to the level of an actionable felony, and the agency that I would refer it to would have the authority to seek an arrest warrant and arrest any culpable individuals in this case," Goyeneche said.
Abelseth maintains she was raped when she was 16 and came away from that encounter pregnant. It happened after she left a bar with John Barnes, who was 30-years old. She said Barnes agreed to take her home but brought her to his house instead, where she said the rape occurred.