A husband and wife, residents of Barringer Road in Lacombe, are now in custody and charged with sexual offenses against a child under the age of 12, according to Chief Deputy Mike Haley of the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office.

The arrests are the result of an investigation by WPSO Det. Demmie Rice, the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office and the St. Tammany Department of Children and Family Services.

Haley said that Krystal Ezell, 33, who had a previous Washington Parish address on Plymouth Lane near Franklinton, was arrested by the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office for the offenses that occurred in Washington Parish, and then brought to the Washington Parish Jail by the WPSO. She was jailed on Saturday, and charged with three counts of first degree aggravated rape and contempt of court. Her bond has been set at $500,000.

Keith Allen Ezell Jr., 38, who had a previous Washington Parish address on Dogwood Valley Road, also was arrested by the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office and remains in the St. Tammany Parish Jail — charged with being a fugitive from Washington Parish and two misdemeanor offenses. When he is cleared in St. Tammany Parish, he will be transferred to the Washington Parish Jail where he will face three charges of first-degree aggravated rape, Haley said. His bond on those charges will be set once he is housed in the Washington Parish Jail.

“I cannot adequately describe my emotions regarding cases such as this,” Washington Parish Sheriff Randy Seal said. “As a father and grandfather, I cannot imagine such despicable acts against children. I appreciate Dept. Rice once again handling a very sensitive matter and putting the guilty parties in jail.”

Haley said that in light of the very sensitive nature of these crimes against a young child, and in an effort to protect the child’s identity, no further information would be released.