Former Bogalusa firefighter sentenced in St. Tammany Parish sexual assault case

ST. TAMMANY PARISH, La. ( WGNO ) — A former Bogalusa firefighter has been sentenced after pleading guilty in a St. Tammany Parish sexual assault case involving a nursing home resident.

The Office of District Attorney Collin Sims reported that 39-year-old Brandon Applewhite pleaded guilty to charges of sexual battery of a victim with a physical or mental disability and molestation of a victim with a physical or mental disability on Tuesday, June 25.

According to the district attorney’s office, the case was filed in February 2022.

Court documents state authorities took a phone from Applewhite as part of an unrelated investigation outside of St. Tammany Parish.

The district attorney’s office reported that during an analysis of the phone, inappropriate images of a St. Tammany Parish nursing home resident and texts “between Applewhite and an employee of a St. Tammany Parish nursing home during which the employee agreed to send him the illicit photographs of the woman” were found.

On Tuesday, Applewhite was sentenced to 30 years in prison without parole and must register as a convicted sex offender after completing his term.

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