FRANKLINTON, La. – Collin Sims, District Attorney (Interim) reports that today, Sean Douglas Burns, age 32, of Folsom, pled guilty after a jury had been selected and sworn in. He pled guilty to third-degree rape and aggravated burglary and was sentenced by District Judge Ellen Creel to 15 years in prison on each count.

Just two months before this offense, the defendant had been released from incarceration on a domestic abuse battery charge and was being helped by family members who had given him a job and a place to stay. On August 16, 2022, at 2:30 a.m., he broke into a home and raped the 40-year-old victim, who had been inside the residence sleeping. The victim got the defendant off her and called her mother for help. The defendant fled the scene and checked himself into a behavioral health hospital. The victim reported the incident to Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office a week after the rape.

The victim was present in the courtroom for the plea. She advised the court that she was satisfied with the terms of the plea. The victim’s mother was also present and gave a victim impact statement. The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Luke Lancaster and Iain Dover.