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Man found guilty of attempted rape of child, faces more charges

Posted at 3:40 PM, Aug 23, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-23 16:43:06-04

Lafayette jury finds 24-year-old Michael Cochran guilty of attempted first-degree rape of a six-year-old girl.

A Lafayette jury convicted 24-year-old Michael Cochran of one count of attempted first-degree rape of a six-year-old girl in the 15th Judicial District Court before Judge Marilyn Castle on August 21, 2018.

The jury consisting of six men and six women heard from investigating officers, the defendant’s and victim’s mutual family members, and the victim, now 12 years old. The defendant faces two more counts of first-degree rape in St. Martin Parish against the same victim,  according to a Lafayette Parish District Attorney’s Office press release.

The indictment filed against Cochran charged him with first degree rape of the child due to the child’s inability to consent based on her age. The jury was given the option of convicting on lesser charges and returned a verdict of guilty of attempted first-degree rape of a child under thirteen years of age.

Cochran faces between 10 and 50 years behind bars and will be sentenced once the Pre-Sentencing investigation has been completed by the office of Probation and Parole, stated in the release.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Royale Colbert and Assistant District Attorney Celeste White. The case was investigated by the Lafayette Police Department and the Breaux Bridge City Police.