Man convicted in Lafayette of the rape of a juvenile 12 years later

LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) — A man was convicted of repeatedly raping a 12-year-old more than 12 years after the crimes were first committed, authorities said.

Matthew Dennis, 47, was convicted of forcible rape and molestation of a juvenile in the 15th Judicial District Court on Wednesday.

The crimes occurred between April 1, 2013 and June 30, 2014, authorities said. The victim was 12 years old when the first offense occurred. The case was reported by the victim in 2016 and investigated by the Lafayette Police Department.

The victim’s mother was in a relationship with the defendant when the crimes were committed, prosecutors said.

Officials said there were 13 separate trial dates (excluding during the COVID moratorium preventing trials from taking place), which were continued by the motions of four separate defense attorneys over the six years the case was pending.

Louisiana state courts were prohibited from holding jury trials after the COVID pandemic was announced from March 2020 until April 2021.

Sentencing will take place in approximately 90 days by District Judge Royale Colbert, who presided over the trial. Dennis faces a potential of 25-99 years at hard labor for the molestation of a juvenile and up to 40 years at hard labor for the forcible rape conviction, prosecutors said. At least two years of the rape sentence and at least 25 years of the molestation sentence must be served without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence.

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