A New Orleans police officer’s abuse of a 14-year-old rape victim began when he sent the young girl for a rape kit.
A New Orleans police officer’s abuse of a 14-year-old rape victim began when he sent the young girl for a rape kit.
Patrol officer Rodney Vicknair responded to the family’s home and urged the teen to report to a hospital. She stated that a 17-year-old friend had forced himself on her earlier that morning. Bodycam footage captured Vicknair’s response: “If I’m a young man that has done something wrong to a young lady and she doesn’t follow up and press the issue,” he said, “then I’m gonna go out and do it to another young lady.”
He continued to press the young girl, saying that any future abuser may feel as though they have significant power over her if she doesn’t take action.
Prosecutors allege that this initial meeting spurred a “months-long grooming process” between the 53-year-old officer and the 14-year-old. Just hours after he introduced himself, Vicknair allowed the girl to “play with his police baton,” joked about spanking her, and showed her photos of women wearing only lingerie.
Vicknair was hired in 2007 despite a tarnished record. He had multiple previous arrests, a conviction for battery on a juvenile, and countless sexually charged interactions with minors. When reached by phone last year, Vicknair declined to comment, although he had previously admitted to sexually abuse.
An investigation conducted by the Washington Post found that hundreds of police officers have preyed on young children throughout the past twenty years. “At least 1,800 state and local police officers were charged with crimes involving child sexual abuse from 2005 through 2022,” investigators discovered.
Case after case showed that officers deliberately manipulated the trust of their victims, typically females between the ages of 13 and 15. They utilized their authority to threaten young girls into silence – a badge and gun served as a menacing reminder to obey.
Numerous schools and churches have created “practices and policies to root out predators,” while law enforcement agencies primarily treat abuse as an “isolated problem that goes away when an officer is fired or prosecuted,” the Washington Post asserts.
“Let me know when [you’re] back home and I’ll come check on you,” Vicknair texted the 14-year-old, immediately following her discharge from the hospital. He began frequenting the girl’s home, earning her mother’s trust, too.
The New Orleans police department continues to deny responsibility for Vicknair’s abuse. They argue that he “was not acting on behalf of NOPD while performing any of the inappropriate actions alleged against him.”
A trial is scheduled to begin on March 18.
Authors: Alexis Kabat and Andy Goldwasser
