Two Louisiana high school students have been charged with fabricating “inappropriate messages” they claimed were sent to them by a teacher to frame him as a sexual predator.

The Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office said they launched an investigation on Dec. 18 after two female students at Central Lafourche High School in Mathews —  about 45 miles southwest of New Orleans –claimed an unidentified male teacher had sent them X-rated messages.

However, a two-week-long investigation soon revealed that the 15 and 16-year-old students had fabricated the conversations on an online instant messaging platform.

Detectives obtained a search warrant for the girls’ electronic devices and shockingly found that the teacher had not sent any messages to them and that they had created an online profile for him to make it appear that he was having risqué conversations with them.

The students would share screenshots of the phony conversations and share them with friends to make their con seem legitimate, the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office said.

Investigators then determined the teacher was not the predator, as the girls claimed, but was the victim of a serious accusation.

When confronted by the findings, one of the students allegedly admitted to having been involved in framing the educator, police said.

“Our juvenile detectives are diligent and take claims of inappropriate behavior very seriously. They are, however, equally serious about false claims,” Sheriff Craig Webre said.

“Someone’s life can be instantly ruined by a false allegation and I am proud that our investigators were able to get to the bottom of this.”

The girls, who have not been named due to their age, were charged with one count each of false swearing for the purpose of violating public health or safety, cyberstalking, and online impersonation on Monday, according to police.

“Technology has made it very easy for people to try to manipulate the truth, but technology also makes it easy for investigators to ultimately find the truth,” Webre said.

The superintendent of Lafourche Parish School District, Jarod Martin, said he was “shocked and appalled” after hearing one of his teachers was framed and nearly lost his livelihood over the serious, yet fake, allegations.

The superintendent condemned the attack on the teacher and criticized the students’ alleged blatant attempt to ruin his “credibility and reputation.”

“We are committed to investigating all allegations of misconduct in order to provide a safe environment conducive to learning and working for all of our students and staff.”

MONROE, La. (KNOE) – As temperatures drop and wintry weather looms, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) is taking proactive measures to ensure safety on Northeast Louisiana roads.

Erin Buchanan, spokesperson for the DOTD, emphasized the importance of caution for travelers during this time:
“Don’t drive unless you have to, like it’s really necessary,” she advised.

With potential ice and snow predicted, particularly in Morehouse and Union Parishes, DOTD crews will begin prepping highways, bridges and overpasses with salt and brine to prevent dangerous ice buildup.

DOTD’s winter weather operations will include deploying 50 trucks and approximately 260 personnel, including scouts who monitor road conditions and report back in real time.

While DOTD focuses on maintaining state highways, Buchanan also shared advice for all drivers who may encounter icy roads:
“If it’s absolutely necessary for you to travel, slow down. Don’t think that you can make it through there. Even if to the naked eye it looks like there’s not much accumulation on the bridge or overpass, there still could be some slick spots, even with the best of our measures.”

Local law enforcement is also on alert. The Morehouse Parish Sheriff’s Office announced it will deploy extra patrols to assist with roadway safety and respond to emergencies during the expected winter weather.

With winter weather on the horizon, DOTD officials urge residents to stay off the roads if possible. If travel is unavoidable, drivers should reduce speed, avoid sudden movements and exercise extreme caution, particularly on bridges and overpasses.

For the latest updates on road conditions, visit the DOTD’s website or follow their social media channels.

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One of the US’s youngest municipal mayors was arrested on Tuesday morning in connection with a drug trafficking investigation by authorities in his home state of Louisiana.

The charges against Tyrin Truong, who was 23 when he was elected as mayor of the city of Bogalusa in 2022, include engaging in transactions involving proceeds from drug offenses and the illicit solicitation of sex work.

Truong is among seven defendants charged in the investigation conducted by Louisiana state police and the Bogalusa police department.

According to a statement from the state police, investigators allege that Truong and the others collectively used “social media platforms to distribute [drugs illegally] and manage payments” for them, “further expanding their reach and criminal activity”.

“The investigation also determined that profits from drug sales were used to purchase firearms,” the state police’s statement continued. Some of those guns were then funneled to people who could not legally possess those weapons – and others “were linked to violent crimes in the Bogalusa area”, the statement added.

Truong, now 25, faces counts of transactions involving proceeds from drug offenses, unauthorized use of moveable property and soliciting for prostitutes.

Six others from Bogalusa also are charged with transactions involving drug-related proceeds. They are: MacKenzie Lynn Cefalu, 24; De-Saleem Wali Pittman, 24; Dirul S Pittman, 22; Salehal-Dien Malike Pittman, 26; Tonya Renee Stage, 51; and Devan Michael Williams, 28.

De-Saleem Pittman is accused of distributing illegal drugs and that defendant, Cefalu, Stage and Williams are accused of plotting to do so.

Truong, a Democrat, pulled off what was considered an upset victory when he won the mayor’s seat of Bogalusa by defeating the independent incumbent Wendy Perrette. Having graduated from Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, with a degree in African American studies, Truong was the youngest mayor in the history of the 111-year-old city, which has a population of about 10,000.

The Black grandson of a Vietnamese immigrant who fought in the Vietnam war, Truong later told the Louisiana Illuminator that his priorities were to decrease crime and corruption in Bogalusa, which in 2008 had made unflattering national headlines after a woman who had just been initiated into a local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan was shot to death.

Truong encountered troubled political waters in April when he received a letter from Louisiana’s legislative auditor informing him that the city’s government had fallen out of compliance with state audit laws. The municipal government had not turned in its 2022 audited financial statement, which was due about six months after Truong took office in January 2023.

That left Bogalusa – which is about 73 miles north of New Orleans – unable to legally receive state money, grants, or federal dollars that would support infrastructure, recreation and law enforcement services.

In a written response, Truong argued that his predecessor did not facilitate a proper transition.

Truong did not immediately comment on authorities’ allegations against him. He had delivered Bogalusa’s state of the city address just four days before his arrest – and said he was elected at an age when many people are still learning “valuable life lessons”.

“I am not different,” Truong said. “I appreciate the trust in confidence you have placed in me, and I don’t take it lightly. Every day, we aim to get better.

“And I ask that we all extend more grace to one another. Mistakes will be made – as they have been. But I was always taught that you get back up, brush it off and apply the lesson for [the] future.”