The gruesome attack on January 13, 2021 went unnoticed by Rapides Parish, Louisiana Sheriff’s Office deputies who were down the street from the alleged rape. The shooter was allegedly Antonio Jones — an accused meth dealer known as “Mississippi” — from whom the woman had arranged to buy drugs, the Associated Press first reported. The victim was sent inside the house alone and without any police support, even though Jones, 48, had been a repeat offender for nearly three decades. As the suspect allegedly forced the woman to perform oral sex on him, her screams and pleas for the assault to stop were recorded but not relayed in real time to authorities. The AP reports that Jones stopped briefly to conduct a drug deal before continuing the brutal attack. It’s unclear how long the attack lasted, but Jones was arrested only after the distraught victim came out of the home and notified law enforcement. “We’ve always done it this way,” former Lt. Mark Parker told the AP, seemingly trying to justify the blatant disregard for the whistleblower’s integrity that may have directly led to her rape. “She was an addict and we were just using her as an informant, like we’ve done a million times before. Looking back, it’s easy to say, ‘What if?’” Antonio Jones is facing rape charges in the whistleblower attack Mr Parker also said officers watching the house thought the victim was safe because another person had entered after her. An official who spoke on condition of anonymity said they had heard the recording of the rape and it was “one of the worst depictions of sexual abuse [they] I’ve ever seen.” “Just the sound of it is enough to turn your stomach,” the official told the AP. “She is a woman being sexually brutalized while crying and whimpering.” In response to AP inquiries, the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office largely dismissed criticism about why the victim wasn’t tracked in real time, saying the department has since “changed the way [they] I’m running errands.” It wasn’t until after the rape that the sheriff’s office began using real-time recording equipment during sting operations, despite the fact that this technology had been available for decades. The house where the informant was attacked (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) It’s unclear what the victim was promised in exchange for her cooperation as an informant, but nearly a month after the attack she was charged with drug possession related to a previous arrest. He is also reported to have been pulled over and “detained for possession at least twice” since the attack. The AP report notes that she pleaded guilty “to possession of drug paraphernalia last year and was placed in behavioral health court instead of jail.” When contacted by The Independent, the victim’s lawyer, Harold Murray, declined to comment on the incident, citing respect for his client’s wishes. He told the AP that the sound was “absolutely horrible.” “He’s got a drug problem and I don’t know if he’ll be able to beat it or not,” Mr Murry said. “But when you get mean, they keep your drug problem and then they arrest you for it.” The operation and the resulting rape did not lead to internal reviews. Jones was originally charged with second-degree rape, false imprisonment and distribution of methamphetamine after his January arrest. After the AP reported the case in August, the rape charge was downgraded to third degree. His trial is scheduled for mid-October.
