On August 6, former Sabine Parish educator, John “Jay” Booker III was sentenced by Judge Craig O. Marcotte of Shreveport to three years in jail per count to be served concurrently. The sentence was then suspended except for one year of incarceration followed by three years of supervised probation.
He was originally convicted by a six-person jury, who heard the case on July 22-25.
Before sentencing, several victim impact statements were given. In addition to Booker, several blamed the Sabine Parish School system for not taking action and keeping his actions concealed. Some parents stated that if administration had taken action when the incidents happened, they could have prevented the abuse of further students.
More about this breaking news can be found on page two of this week’s INDEX.