Adams County man scheduled to be on trial for rape today

Published 12:15 am Tuesday, July 23, 2019

 

VIDALIA — An Adams County man is scheduled for a court appearance today for multiple charges of sex crimes against minors dating as far back as 2004.

Michael Bumgarner, 42, is scheduled to appear for trial 9 a.m. today in the Concordia Parish Courthouse as multiple charges of rape and molestation of minors three years after alleged victims filed reports in both Concordia Parish and Adams County.

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Bumgarner was last arrested in Adams County in April 2016 after he had already been charged one month earlier in Concordia Parish with two counts of third-degree rape and one count sexual battery.

Adams County District Attorney Ronnie Harper said the case in Adams County against Bumgarner was not prosecuted after the victim’s family moved out of town and didn’t respond to a summons for court.

The victim was under the age of 16 when the fondling incident allegedly took place in 2015, Harper said.

“Because the victims would not cooperate, we could not prosecute the case,” Harper said, adding that the victim could still comeback and re-file charges against Bumgarner without it being considered double jeopardy.

Reportedly, the Concordia Parish charges originated after one of the alleged victims came forward and then the others followed suit.

The third-degree rape charges date to incidents that allegedly occurred in 2004 and 2009 involving two victims who were ages 15 and 14 at the time while the sexual battery charge involves an alleged victim who was 9 years old at the time and dates to 2004.

If convicted, Louisiana law states that third degree rape is punishable with up to 25 years of imprisonment at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence.

Sexual battery on a victim under the age of 13 is punishable by imprisonment at hard labor for anywhere from 25 to 99 years while at least 25 years of the sentence imposed shall be served without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence.