Louisiana

Louisiana task force takes aim at how state handles child sex abuse cases

Published

1 year ago

October 24, 2024

Louisiana task force takes aim at how state handles child sex abuse cases

BATON ROUGE, La. (KALB) – A newly created Louisiana task force targeting how Louisiana handles cases of child sexual abuse convened on Oct. 22, to find potential shortcomings within judicial and departmental operations.

The task force‘s hearing, chaired by Louisiana State Senator Regina Barrow, featured testimony from Kathleen Richey, Louisiana’s Child Ombudsman; a position with the Louisiana Legislative Auditor created with SB137, a bill authored by Senator Barrow in 2023.

According to Barrow, she chose to create the task force following a phone call she received from a constituent describing a case of child sexual abuse which ended with the accused abuser still having access to the alleged victim.

“Someone called me about a sexual abuse situation where the abuser was still able to get to the child,” recalled Barrow. “I asked her how does this happen, and why is it happening, and she said there are many aspects to this, and it’s not easy to figure out, it’s very complex. This is something we really need to take a look at.”

During her testimony, Kathleen Richey highlighted a statistic from her office, stating it‘s received almost 250 complaints in three weeks, with more than 10% of the complaints involving child sexual abuse.

According to the task force, the most immediate issues impacting the future safety of affected children are the cross-functional communications and processes between departments and courts, the lack of standardized training for chilld sexual abuse interviews and the absence of a written protocol for such investigations under the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and law enforcement.

Task force member and Lafourche Parish District Attorney Kristine Russell emphasized the importance of Multi-Disciplinary Team Meetings (MDTs): monthly intra-communications between law enforcement, DCFS, district attorney offices, and advocacy centers. According to Russell, the purpose of MDTs are to ensure the services and support a child receives are sufficient and to ”force communication” between the agencies.

“The number one issue that we’re talking about right now is a lack of communication between agencies and so MDT meetings force communication and in the end result everybody has better cases”

While discussing the interview processes, Richey highlighted a portion of her investigation on interview training, citing that DCFS does not have training specifically for interviewers handling cases of child sexual abuse. She further states that while training is available through advocacy centers and forensic interviews, interviewers “often don’t participate.”

“We have met with an intake interviewer, a worker with DCFS, and in the course of that interview we just did some play-acting and I said, ‘Okay, I‘m a grandma and I’m worried…that somebody is messing with my grandchild’ and, y’know, what do you ask me? There was a lot that I could’ve told them if they only asked, but they didn’t ask,” Richey explained.

Her suggested solution to the task force would be to develop a written code of protocol and provide accessible training to DCFS specifically for interviewers handling child sex abuse investigations.

“We also discovered there’s no training specific for child sexual abuse for an interviewer, and so we are working with the department [DCFS] to identify appropriate training

“Centralized intake has a protocol for a child fatality, they have a protocol for drug-exposed newborns, and a protocol for trafficking. There is no specific protocol for the extent of the interview for the report of a child sexual abuse.

The task force is set to reconvene on November 13 to potentially create new policy and/or legislative recommendations for 2025.

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Louisiana

Louisiana Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 results for Jan. 3, 2026

Published

6 hours ago

January 4, 2026

Press Room

The Louisiana Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Jan. 3, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from Jan. 3 drawing

18-21-40-53-60, Powerball: 23, Power Play: 3

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Jan. 3 drawing

0-9-4

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from Jan. 3 drawing

3-0-6-9

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 5 numbers from Jan. 3 drawing

8-7-5-3-0

Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Easy 5 numbers from Jan. 3 drawing

12-18-20-29-34

Check Easy 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto numbers from Jan. 3 drawing

01-14-18-20-27-41

Check Lotto payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

All Louisiana Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $600. For prizes over $600, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at Louisiana Lottery offices. Prizes of over $5,000 must be claimed at Lottery office.

By mail, follow these instructions:

Sign and complete the information on the back of your winning ticket, ensuring all barcodes are clearly visible (remove all scratch-off material from scratch-off tickets).
Photocopy the front and back of the ticket (except for Powerball and Mega Millions tickets, as photocopies are not accepted for these games).
Complete the Louisiana Lottery Prize Claim Form, including your telephone number and mailing address for prize check processing.
Photocopy your valid driver’s license or current picture identification.

Mail all of the above in a single envelope to:

Louisiana Lottery Headquarters

555 Laurel Street

Baton Rouge, LA 70801

To submit in person, visit Louisiana Lottery headquarters:

555 Laurel Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70801, (225) 297-2000.

Hours: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes of any amount.

Check previous winning numbers and payouts at Louisiana Lottery.

When are the Louisiana Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 3, Pick 4 and Pick 5: Daily at 9:59 p.m. CT.
Easy 5: 9:59 p.m. CT Wednesday and Saturday.
Lotto: 9:59 p.m. CT Wednesday and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Louisiana editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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Louisiana

Louisiana Lottery Pick 3, Pick 4 results for Dec. 28, 2025

Published

6 days ago

December 29, 2025

Press Room

The Louisiana Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Dec. 28, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Dec. 28 drawing

9-7-6

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from Dec. 28 drawing

9-0-5-0

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 5 numbers from Dec. 28 drawing

3-3-8-8-8

Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

By mail, follow these instructions:

Sign and complete the information on the back of your winning ticket, ensuring all barcodes are clearly visible (remove all scratch-off material from scratch-off tickets).
Photocopy the front and back of the ticket (except for Powerball and Mega Millions tickets, as photocopies are not accepted for these games).
Complete the Louisiana Lottery Prize Claim Form, including your telephone number and mailing address for prize check processing.
Photocopy your valid driver’s license or current picture identification.

Mail all of the above in a single envelope to:

Louisiana Lottery Headquarters

555 Laurel Street

Baton Rouge, LA 70801

To submit in person, visit Louisiana Lottery headquarters:

555 Laurel Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70801, (225) 297-2000.

Hours: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes of any amount.

Check previous winning numbers and payouts at Louisiana Lottery.

When are the Louisiana Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 3, Pick 4 and Pick 5: Daily at 9:59 p.m. CT.
Easy 5: 9:59 p.m. CT Wednesday and Saturday.
Lotto: 9:59 p.m. CT Wednesday and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Louisiana editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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Louisiana

Kyla Oldacre and Madison Booker lead No. 2 Texas over Southeastern Louisiana 120-38

Published

7 days ago

December 28, 2025

Press Room

Kyla Oldacre and Madison Booker lead No. 2 Texas over Southeastern Louisiana 120-38

AUSTIN, Texas — Senior Kyla Oldacre scored a career-high 22 points and Madison Booker added 20 to help No. 2 Texas finish its non-conference schedule undefeated with a 120-38 victory over Southeastern Louisiana on Sunday.

Texas (15-0) has won 34 straight home games. First-half scoring bursts of 26-0 and 21-0 secured the victory early.

The Longhorns scored 68 points in the paint against an opponent that used no player taller than six feet in its rotation. The 6-6 Oldacre hit 9 of 10 shots from the field and 4 of 5 free throws in 19 minutes off the bench.

A starting lineup that includes four guards did not help the Lady Lions avoid ball-handling and passing mistakes. They committed 30 turnovers that Texas converted into 50 points. Twenty turnovers came in the first half before Texas pulled out of its full-court defense.

Jordan Lee scored 16 for Texas, including four 3-pointers. Breya Cunningham and Bryanna Preston each scored 12, with Preston also producing three of the Longhorns’ 16 steals. Rori Harmon had six assists and no turnovers, increasing her string to 57 and three over the last six games.

Eryn McKinzie led Southeastern Louisiana (2-8) with 13 points. The 38 points scored by the Lady Lions is their second-lowest production this season. They lost to LSU 115-26 on Nov. 6.

Texas beat nationally ranked UCLA, South Carolina, North Carolina and Baylor, using a seven-player rotation that was missing the injured Ashton Judd, Aaliyah Crump and Bryanna Preston. Judd and Preston have returned, but Crump, a freshman who averaged 13 points in her first five games, missed the last 10 with a foot injury.

Southeastern Louisiana guard Eryn McKinzie (3) is defended by Texas guard Ashton Judd (21) and forward Teya Sidberry (32) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Austin, Texas. Credit: AP/Stephen Spillman