State Attorney General Jeff Landry’s office was granted a Contradictory Hearing regarding the state’s motion to revoke bail for Norman Ural Booker III. Judge Stephen B. Beasley set the hearing for June 3 at 8:30 a.m.
Booker, longtime Sabine Parish educator and former Principal at Many High School, was arrested Oct. 29, 2020 for Misdemeanor Sexual Battery, Indecent Behavior with Juveniles, two counts of Sexual Battery and Oral Sexual Battery.
His bail was set at $20,000 and the court set as specific conditions of bail that he “will have no contact with the victims and no contact with anyone under the age of 17 to whom he is not related.” Judge Beasley’s original conditions of bail also stated, “no contact means no contact.”
On February 8, a Grand Jury indicted Booker and on April 22, he was arraigned and entered pleas of Not Guilty to all charges.
The order issued Monday by Judge Beasley states, “While out on bond, the Court received information that Booker made contact with several juvenile females while attending the Louisiana State High School Athletic Association State Championship Game.” The game was held in Sulphur on April 30-May 2, and Booker reportedly attended all three days.
School Resource Officer Calvin Hays attended the tournament and reported that Booker was present at all games, hugged “almost every one of the players,” and “took pictures with them after the championship win.” Of the nineteen players, eleven are age 16 or younger, and all were present at the tournament.
Presented in Court Monday were photographs showing the alleged bail violations. It has been reported that these pictures first appeared on Facebook. Booker’s daughter played on the Many team, thus his reason for attending the game. His son, Keaton Booker, is also coach of the team who played in the game.
After being notified of the order, Booker turned himself in to the Sabine Sheriff’s Office where he was booked. He will remain in jail until the June 3 hearing at which time Judge Beasley will hold a hearing and make a determination.
The State’s motion to revoke bail avers that “the defendant’s appearance was an effort to display to those in attendance, and in the community, how little credence he gives to the charges pending against him.” The motion asks that after a hearing, if another bail be granted, that it be substantially increased from the initial bail of $20,000, and that Booker be equipped with GPS monitoring as a special condition.