Overview

• Thomas Allen McCartney, 37, pleaded guilty on Aug. 18 in Vernon Parish to attempted first-degree rape of a child under 13, the district attorney confirmed.
• As part of the plea, McCartney agreed to undergo surgical and chemical castration and will serve a 40-year sentence with the Louisiana Department of Corrections.
• The offense occurred in February 2023 when a mother found him abusing her seven-year-old; he fled at gunpoint and was later arrested at a Houston hotel and extradited to Louisiana.
• McCartney is classified as a Tier Three sex offender with prior child-sex offenses, including a 2011 conviction for attempted aggravated rape and earlier arrests in 2010 and 2006.
• Louisiana is the first U.S. state to authorize surgical castration for certain sex crimes against children, a policy that has prompted constitutional objections from critics.