Judge keeps reduced bond in place for teen accused of raping underage neighbor

A teenager accused of raping one of his preteen neighbors at gunpoint remained free on $100,000 bond Wednesday after a judge justified lowering his bail amount last month, despite objections raised by prosecutors.

De’Aundre Cox appeared before 19th Judicial District Judge Gail Horne Ray for a hearing where the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney’s Office sought to have the judge reinstate the $300,000 bail she originally set for him.

Ray explained her reasoning for reducing the bond, noting that Louisiana is a right-to-bail state that allows defendants the right to be permitted a bail when they are charged with a criminal offense.

“In my assessment, $100,000 is not a low bond. To me, that’s quite substantial,” she said. “Especially seeing that one of the things I have to consider is the defendant’s ability to make a bond. If you’re using commercial surety, that’s $12,000. I don’t know many 17- or 18-year-olds who have $12,000 laying around to make a bond.”

Cox faces the prospect of a mandatory-life sentence if he’s convicted of first-degree rape. He faces two counts of the capital offense in connection with reports that on two separate occasions, he threatened a girl who lives near his family’s home in the Park Forest neighborhood with a gun and raped her.  

Ray set Cox’s bond at $150,000 per count when he made his first appearance March 13, according to court records. Four days later, she dropped the total bail amount to $100,000 without holding a hearing in court, and the teen was released the same day. 

Assistant DA Sonya Cardia-Porter argued that prosecutors didn’t learn about the modified bond until a week after Ray changed it, and the state never had the opportunity to present arguments that may have influenced the judge’s decision.

Prosecutors also weren’t able to forewarn members of the victim’s family, who were blindsided by Cox’s release.   

“There were issues that caused us concern,” Cardia-Porter told the judge. “What the court wants to do is up to the court. We are just in possession of information that I think should be presented to the court so that you understand our concerns as of right now.”

Chief among those concerns were Cox’s living arrangements. According to bond documents, he was released on house arrest to live at his grandmother’s home a few doors from the alleged victim’s. Cardia-Porter said that’s within the exclusionary zone of the judge’s protective order, requiring the defendant to stay at least 100 feet from the victim’s residence.

Cox’s attorney, Thomas D’Amico, told Ray that since his release the teen has actually been living with his mother, a few miles away on Lobdell Avenue. The judge ordered that address to be listed on Cox’s bond paperwork and prohibited him from visiting his grandmother’s house any longer. 

Cox has not been indicted on the two rape counts. Ray said the case has yet to be randomly allotted to a judge who will preside over the proceedings on a permanent basis, noting it could be reassigned to another courtroom by the end of the day. 

Ray told attorneys on both sides she found no indications she violated state law by failing to notify them about the bond change. She said prosecutors will need to file a written motion to get Cox’s bail increased. The judge who inherits the case likely would handle that, she said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.