Sheriff's Officer Used Service Weapon to Rape Victims
Gimarie330
Admits to Series of Attacks Over Several Years, Cops Say
Jan. 20, 1999
By Michelle Gotthelf
LAFAYETTE, La. (APB) -- The arrest of a Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office
sergeant this week for a string of rapes has devastated the department where
the decorated officer worked for nearly 20 years.
"No one can believe it. Not Randy, he's top notch," Sheriff's Capt. Michael
Savoie told APB News about Ernest Randal "Randy" Comeaux, 37, who confessed
Monday to raping at least six women in attacks that spanned several years. "He
was an outstanding investigator, a real nice guy. We're all stunned."
The arrest of Comeaux, who oversaw the juvenile bureau, concludes a 16-month
investigation into the rapes, the oldest case having been reported in 1986 in
South Lafayette Parish. He has also admitted to five others: four on
Lafayette's south side from 1990 to 1995 and one in rural Acadia Parish in
1993, police said.
Police are trying to link him to at least seven other rapes but would not
disclose whether he also admitted to them during the two-hour confession he
gave investigators.
Behaved like a policeman
In each case, Comeaux told investigators, he randomly chose a victim, broke
into her home and sexually assaulted her at gunpoint, police said. The victims
ranged in age from 21 to 55, police said.
Police believed the suspect could have been a law enforcement officer early in
the investigation when some of the victims said the rapist behaved like an
officer and carried some police items. They believe he used his service weapon
to commit the crimes.
Comeaux even accidentally left a flashlight at one of the crime scenes,
investigators said.
DNA matched sperm sample
In September 1997, a law enforcement task force was assembled to prevent future
rapes from occurring. Police said the task force singled out Comeaux in
November because he fit the description of a composite sketch.
They said they then matched his DNA, taken from a saliva sample, and compared
it to sperm samples taken from rape victims. He was a match, police said.
Comeaux was arrested Monday morning and allegedly admitted to the crimes to
spare the victims a lengthy trial. He has since been held in the Lafayette
Parish Correctional Center.
"He's been real remorseful," Savoie said. "He even implicated himself, and we
expect him to plead guilty."