U.S. judge rules castration will be part of child rapist’s sentence

A stock photograph of a judge using the gavel. (Pexels/Photo by KATRIN BOLOVTSOVA)

Shreveport, Louisiana -- A convicted sex offender was back in court Tuesday, where a judge decided whether he would face castration as part of his sentence.

Floyd Lee Cathron, 61, was convicted last month of second-degree rape involving a teenage family member.

Prosecutors say this is part of a long pattern of sexual crimes Cathron committed against children. His prior offenses, including rape and incest, go back more than two decades.

Caddo District Judge Ramona Emanuel decided following an afternoon hearing that castration will be a part of Cathron’s sentence. But it will be up to him to decide whether he wants chemical or surgical castration.

Emanuel’s weighed in the fact that Cathron is a four-time convicted felon.

Cathron’s attorney argued against castration due to his age, in addition to the decades he may serve behind bars. The attorney also invoked the Eighth Amendment of cruel and unusual punishment.

Cathron will be formally sentenced on April 20.

Meanwhile, just across the river in Bossier Parish, a similar decision was made Monday.

Zachary Doolittle, 40, was sentenced to chemical castration plus 45 years in prison. His charges stem from sexual acts involving a family member under the age of 13.

Although surgical castration has been legal for about two years now, no one in Caddo or Bossier parishes has received that sentence so far.