Louisiana Voice

The mainstream media tend to shy away from stories like the one below because too many supporters of athletic programs at our universities wield undue influence over what is written.

Not so LouisianaVoice. We don’t accept advertising, so we’re not beholden to any corporate entity or wealthy donor.

For years, Louisiana Tech University has managed to keep a tight lid on its censorship of the student newspaper, The Tech Talk. The publication was closed down by administrators after dogged coverage of on-campus sexual assaults in 2019 and 2020 embarrassed administrators.

Attempts to manage the news are the reasons for sexual assault coverup scandals at places like Cornell and LSU and for the decisions of district attorneys in places like Bossier and Lincoln parishes to not pursue charges against perpetrators of felonies–stories that LouisianaVoice is not afraid to publish.

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Cornell University has been in the forefront lately regarding the alleged 2024 gang rape of a co-ed by seven male students but sexual assault on college campuses is certainly nothing new.

Neither are attempts by university officials to cover up or at least minimize he damage such news stories can do to a university.

At least two Louisiana universities have their own dirty linen they’d like to keep hidden away from prying eyes.

Most recently, it has been learned that an LSU football player accused of a 2025 rape was at first suspended (not prosecuted, mind you, but suspended) for one year but that was reduced on appeal to two years of probation without restrictions and he was allowed back on the team.

Such is the gilded life of a football player at the Ole War Skule.

Only now, after the victim went public with her allegations last month after a formal Title IX complaint last January failed to produce criminal charges, is the matter being investigated by the East Baton Rouge Parish district attorney’s office.

“Campus sexual assault procedures have drawn renewed attention as universities face questions over how reports are investigated, what discipline follows and how campus findings intersect with the criminal justice system,” said a Sept. 30 post by Alexandra Agraz of LAW COMMENTARY, an online legal news service.

“Louisiana state Rep. Vanessa Caston LaFleur has called for a review of what happens after universities find students responsible for sexual misconduct, including whether students are adequately informed about the limits of campus proceedings,” Agraz wrote.

The response by administrators at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston to on-campus sexual assaults was interesting, to say the least.

In the early 2020s, the student newspaper, The Tech Talk, which had published a weekly edition since 1931, was simply SHUT DOWN as a result of its controversial coverage of the assaults, something any responsible journalist would be expected to do anywhere else.

After all, we can’t have those irresponsible reporters embarrassing the school by printing the truth, now can we? Well, yes we can. We cannot pick and choose what is a legitimate news story and what is not. That would be censorship.

Communication students have indicated to LouisianaVoice a hope that the newspaper will eventually be reinstated.

But the trend on college campuses, be they Ivy League schools like Cornell, state flagship universities like LSU or smaller universities like Louisiana Tech, appears to be to keep pumping out the good news about research grants, etc., but to slap a lid on anything controversial.

Universities seem to consider of their campuses as communities unto themselves and that anything that happens within those boundaries stays there. What administrators do not seem to realize or appreciate is that students, particularly female students, deserve protection from predators. They may be residents of a particular campus, but they are part of a much bigger family that pays tuition so that their loved ones may have successful careers and a better life.

To attempt to cover up criminal activity is doing no one any favors.

Look up Bossier Parish District Attorney online and you get this:

“The Bossier Parish District Attorney is Schuyler Marvin, who has served since January 2003. He oversees the prosecution of criminal cases in Bossier and Webster Parishes. The district attorney plays a crucial role in the local judicial system.”

Likewise, that same Internet says, “The judicial system is responsible for interpreting laws, resolving disputes, and ensuring justice is served” and that it “plays a crucial role in maintaining law and order.”

Given those two noble-sounding definitions, why did Bossier Parish District Attorney Schuyler Marvin terminate an investigation by entering a nolle prosequi (Latin for “to be unwilling to pursue”) in a May 8, 2025, Bossier Parish home invasion case by a prominent Benton businessman, especially since one DA representative indicated there had been similar incidents in the past involving the accused and women?

Max Anthony Sharp, who is an officer in a host of corporations dealing with oil drilling and investments, was initially arrested 18 months ago for the forced entry into a Bossier Parish home which resulted in extensive damage to a doorway to the home.

The unidentified victim claims that prosecutors specifically indicated to her that they would confer with her before taking any final action but that promised consultation never occurred before the prosecution was terminated.

She was also told by a representative of the DA’s office—another prosecutor—sho separately reviewed the matter, that there had been “other incidents” involving Sharp and women but that he “had not gone this far before.”

The victim said she has several questions she would like to have addressed:

• What changed during the approximately 18 months the felony prosecution was pending?
• Who participated in the decision to terminate?
• What reason was documented for the nolle prosequi?
• Were prosecutors’ earlier assessments of the case materially different from the ultimate disposition?
• Did anyone outside the normal prosecutorial process attempt to influence the outcome?

The complainant is seeking independent state and federal reviews of the circumstances surrounding the DA’s decision to terminate the 2025, home invasion.

Bossier and Webster parishes comprise the 26^th Judicial District.

The Bossier Parish case is not the first time that criminal cases have mysteriously disappeared.

In the 3^rd JDC, which is made up of Lincoln and Union parishes, two cases have also found their way into deep, dark holes. First, there was the decision that no one would prosecuted for the 2019 death of Ronald Greene at the hands of several State Troopers and a Union Parish sheriff’s deputy.

Then was the FOOT-DRAGGING, SLOW-WALKING of the prosecution of Abby Sterling, 20, who struck two pedestrians, Hahn Bridges and Jackson Mitcham, both 21. Mitcham later died as a result of his injuries.

Sterling’s blood tests showed her blood alcohol content (BAC) was 0.169, more than twice the limit to be considered intoxicated.

Kinda makes you tend to re-think those principled definitions of justice and fairness and “equal” treatment.

Does anyone have the right to do this to your home and walk away?

LouisianaVoice has no paywall because we want all to have access to our posts. Likewise, we do not accept advertising other than Cavalier House Books whose owner was kind enough to set up this blog in the beginning (though occasionally unauthorized ads are tacked on by our platform provider). That’s because I don’t want to be beholden to any entity. Independence is important.

Any financial support come from your generosity and that is precisely why we don’t abuse the privilege. I don’t have to tell you times are difficult right now—I understand and appreciate that.

Thanks to incompetent leadership, we’re in a war that should never have been, we’re paying far too much for groceries, rent, utilities and gas and the economy is not great, no matter what we’re being told. So, if you’re unable to contribute, I fully understand as our president most assuredly does not.

 Twice a year is sufficient. I’m not in this as a livelihood; I’m simply attempting to meet a few expenses so I may continue to provide a service to keep readers informed of what our public servants are up to at any given time.

That is why I write about furtive agreements to locate a data center in Livingston Parish, about bone-headed senators attempting to blindside a witness with bad information; about evangelicals, despite their professed claim to be Christians, who will turn their backs on the less fortunate in order to support a tyrant and deny food to a hungry child; about sheriffs who believe they are laws unto themselves, about the impact of failing medical facilities on communities and about the attempted takeover—and destruction—of our public libraries by those who would impose their own brand of morals and standards on the rest of us.

If you agree with these principles, I invite you to contribute what you’re comfortable with giving. Your contribution will not be blessed nor do I promise you will be rewarded many times over for planting your seed of faith. I simply pledge I will continue to do my best to expose corruption, malfeasance, violations of public trust and hypocrisy on the part of elected officials.

To contribute, click HERE and scroll down to the YELLOW RECTANGLE labeled “Keep Us Independent,” (it’s to the right of this post) and follow the instructions to contribute by credit card or you may mail a check to Tom Aswell, 107 North College St. West, Denham Springs, LA. 70726.

As always, your support, no matter how large or how small, is greatly and sincerely appreciated.