Disclaimer: All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
TERREBONNE PARISH, La. (WGNO) — The woman accused of torturing her teenage daughter in Terrebonne Parish pled not guilty to the charges against her in court on Monday, June 24.
The Terrebonne Parish Clerk of Court’s Office confirmed that 40-year-old Latonya Harris pled not guilty to second-degree cruelty to a juvenile, domestic abuse battery and child endangerment following a crash in Baytown, Texas that led to the discovery of the alleged abuse of her 15-year-old daughter.
According to previous reports, on April 20, Baytown police were made aware of a vehicle that had been driving recklessly on Interstate 10 East and crashed onto a service road.
During the crash investigation, the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office received a report from the Department of Child Family Services that the teen involved was “badly burned and shot multiple times.”
While hospitalized, detectives with the Baytown Police Department determined that the teen’s other injuries were “done at the hands of her mother and Washington.”
The two were arrested after the crash. During an interview, Harris’ boyfriend, 41-year-old Terrence Washington, allegedly confessed to the sexual abuse of the teen that lasted for months and shooting her before leaving for Texas.
“Being a dad that’s a protective dad to get that phone call, I’m not okay because I feel like I didn’t do what I needed to do to protect my child,” said Timothy Johnson, the victim’s father.
During a news conference, Terrebonne Parish Sheriff Tim Soignet described Harris and Washington as “pure evil” as he held back his emotions.
“We are making sure she has emotional support, our detectives we’re there. If she needs us, we are there. We are going to be there every step of the way,” said Soignet.
Washington is facing two counts of attempted first-degree murder, second-degree cruelty to a juvenile, obstruction of justice, molestation of a juvenile, three counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile, and five counts of second-degree rape.
Harris is expected to appear in court again in September.
According to the clerk of court’s office, Washington remains jailed in Texas. At this time, an extradition request hasn’t been filed to have him return to Louisiana.
Stay up to date with the latest news, weather and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play stores and by subscribing to the WGNO newsletter.