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Bogalusa woman sentenced in child pornography, sex crimes investigation
By Bella Dardano,
2024-08-20
BOGALUSA, La. ( WGNO ) — A Bogalusa woman was sentenced after she pled guilty in a child pornography and sex crimes case.
The Office of District Attorney Collin Sims reported that 51-year-old Angela Dawn Holloway Austin pled guilty to four counts of production of child pornography and sexual abuse of an animal in Washington Parish and sexual battery and molestation of a person with a physical or mental disability in St. Tammany Parish.
The district attorney’s office reported that the Bogalusa Police Department opened an investigation in 2019 after Austin accused Brandon Applewhite of threatening to disseminate nude photos of her.
Court documents state a search of Applewhite’s phone yielded “a large number of disturbing images unrelated to the original complaint being investigated.”
According to the district attorney’s office, investigators found inappropriate images of three children appearing to be under the age of 6 and text messages between Applewhite and Austin.
Investigators said text messages between the two that stated Austin was babysitting the children at her Bogalusa home and Applewhite encouraged her to take “pornographic” pictures of the children.
Angela Dawn Holloway Austin (Courtesy: Office of District Attorney Collin Sims)
Court documents state sexual videos involving Austin and a dog and inappropriate images of a St. Tammany Parish nursing home resident were also found in the phone.
According to the district attorney’s office, “text messages between Applewhite and Austin indicated Austin, who worked at a St. Tammany Parish nursing home, agreed to send Applewhite the illicit photographs of the woman who was a resident at the nursing home.”
On July 22, Austin was sentenced to 25 years in prison without parole after pleading guilty to her charges in Washington Parish.
On Aug. 16, Austin was sentenced to 25 years in prison without parole after pleading guilty to her charges in St. Tammany Parish.
The district attorney’s office reported that her sentences will run concurrently with each other, and she will be required to register as a convicted sex offender.
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