COVINGTON, La. — The sex crimes trial against former long-time St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain continues Wednesday with more witnesses called by the state against Strain.
The trial's first two days of testimony last week were incredibly graphic, with two accusers giving detailed accounts of the sexual abuse they claim Strain inflicted on them.
Prosecutors say they plan to bring more than 30 witnesses to the stand over the course of the trial. Testimony is expected to last for at least another week.
WWL-TV reporters Erika Ferrando and Sam Winstrom are at the Covington Courthouse and will provide updates throughout the day on the latest proceedings of the trial.
Ed. Note: WWL-TV is not naming sexual abuse victims testifying in this case due to the nature of the alleged crimes.
Here's the latest from the trial, where witness testimony is at the heart of the accusations against Strain:
Updates:
Strain's Defense attorneys bring up a phone call between Strain accuser and his mother
Jack Strain’s defense attorneys produced a phone call recorded between Jack Strain’s accuser and his mother.
During the Nov. 2017 phone call, Strain’s accuser says he feels “they” are blackmailing him into accusing Strain of being a pedophile. He said he was afraid they’d find some kind of dirt on him.
The accuser confirmed that the call was real, but said that he flipped back and forth between wanting to testify and not wanting to testify against Strain. He said that anyone would be scared while being questioned by the FBI.
According to the accuser, he just wanted the whole ordeal to go away.
This evidence falls in line with Strain’s defense attorneys’ argument that two of his accusers were manipulated into testifying against him.
The accuser ended his testimony by saying that he was never actually threatened into testifying and that the accusations he made against Strain are true.
Accuser shouts at Strain, recess called
Testimony from the fourth Strain accuser to take the stand got emotional Wednesday afternoon.
The accuser, one of Strain's relatives, was describing a phone call with his mother when he broke down and addressed Strain directly.
“He needs to pay for what he did. He shouldn’t have done what he did to me. He has to answer for what he did,” the accuser shouted, staring directly at Jack Strain. “He knows better.”
The accuser broke down crying during cross examination and the judge called a 10 minute recess.
His testimony will resume soon.
Strain's fourth accuser takes the stand
A fourth man accusing Jack Strain of sexually abusing him as a child testified today.
The accuser, another one of Strain’s relatives, said that Strain molested him when they were alone on hunting trips and made inappropriate comments about his pubic hair.
The alleged abuse started when he was just a 10-year-old boy and continued into his adult life when he says he woke up to Strain molesting him when he was around 21-years-old.
The witness said he first told another family member about the alleged abuse in 2012, which matches up with testimony given by Jack Strain’s wife Lisa earlier in the day.
Lisa Strain says Jack told her he never hurt relative after accusations
Jack Strain’s wife, Lisa Strain, finished her testimony before lunch Wednesday.
She confirmed that Jack had access to some of his alleged victims at the time they claim the abuse happened but maintains his innocence.
When asked about confronting her husband with the allegations, Lisa said Jack told her “I can’t imagine (why the relative would accuse him). I never did anything to hurt that boy.”
She said she’s never seen Jack do anything inappropriate with his accusers in their 37 years of marriage.
The trial will resume with a new witness after a brief 15-minute recess.
Jack Strain's wife takes the stand
Wednesday’s testimony started when Jack Strain’s wife, Lisa Strain, was called to the witness stand.
Prosecutors had Lisa Strain confirm that Jack Strain had access to some of his alleged victims on a timeline consistent with their accusations, but said she either didn’t know or couldn’t confirm many other key details in the state’s case against her husband.
A brief recess was called after multiple objections to the questions ADA Collin Sims asked Lisa Strain about when she became aware of the accusations against her husband.
Previous Updates:
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