BATON ROUGE, La. — A grand jury charged a 17-year-old as an adult for the assault of LSU student Madison Brooks hours before she died last month, according to our partners at The Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate.
Desmond Carter was indicted by an East Baton Rouge grand jury with a count of first-degree rape and third-degree rape on Wednesday.
The first-degree rape charge is the gravest sexual assault charge available to prosecutors under Louisiana law.
Kaivon Washington, 18, also faces a third-degree rape charge.
Casen Saver, 18, and Everett Lee, 28, both face charges of principal to third-degree rape. They are accused of sitting in the front of the car while Brooks was assaulted by Washington and Carter in the backseat after a night of drinking.
The three other defendants may face heightened charges as well, as District Attorney Hillar Moore said he would leave the question of whether to stiffen charges to the grand jury.
The alleged assault of Brooks occurred after she left Reggie's bar, a popular spot among LSU students. She was dropped off near Pelican Lakes Parkway and Burbank Drive where she was fatally struck by a car.
As Brooks was 19 and had a BA level of .319 when she arrived at a hospital, Reggie's Bar received numerous criticisms of serving alcohol to a minor.
The driver who hit Brooks does not face charges.
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