Man gets 35 years for child rape plea

Published 3:17 pm Friday, February 10, 2017

According to District Attorney Warren Montgomery, David Peek, 56, of Mount Hermon, pleaded guilty Tuesday to forcible rape, aggravated incest, and 27 counts of possession of child pornography with children under age 13.

District Judge Allison Penzato sentenced him to 35 years in prison on the forcible rape charge, 25 years on the incest charge, and 20 years on the pornography charges. All of the sentences will be served at the same time. Peek is also required to register as a sex offender if he is ever released from prison. The District Attorney’s Office contacted the victims’ families, who agreed to the terms of the plea.

Officials with Montgomery’s office said that the victim was 8 or 9 years old when Peek began fondling her and then had sex with her in his Mount Hermon home. He eventually had sex with the victim on two separate occasions. Several years later, a teacher became concerned about the girl and notified her parents.

When questioned, the girl reported the abuse to her father, and the family contacted police. Soon afterward, another victim came forward and reported that Peek had made inappropriate sexual contact with her when she was between the ages of 9 and 12 during a visit to his home.

The Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office investigated and took a statement from Peek, who claimed that any inappropriate touching was accidental or happened while he was sleeping.

After obtaining a search warrant, investigators found numerous images of child pornography on Peek’s phone. Peek was charged initially with aggravated rape, but it was amended to forcible rape as part of the plea agreement.