Slidell men face rape, incest charges

Two Slidell men were arrested recently on separate rape and aggravated incest charges, Sheriff’s Office Capt. George Bonnett said.

James Bernard Holts, 39, of N. 12th Street, in Slidell, was charged Nov. 11 with forcible rape and aggravated rape after allegedly attacking an Alabama woman, 26, as she slept on the couch in Holts’ living room.

It’s unclear why she was visiting Holts, but Bonnett said she and another woman were sleeping there when he pounced on the girl and covered her mouth as he raped her.

Earlier the man had entered a bedroom where the victim’s friend was sleeping and “made an advance at her,” but the woman refused, and Holts left, Bonnett said.

That woman woke up later in the night and allegedly witnessed Holts on top of her friend, his hands clinched around her neck and mouth, Bonnett said.

Holts immediately jumped up and left as the girls called 911. As detectives were interviewing the woman, Holts returned and was arrested on the spot without incident, Bonnett said.

In the second incident, a 47-year-old Slidell man was arrested Nov. 19 for allegedly attacking his stepdaughter once earlier this year.

The incident came to light when the victim told her biological father about the attack, and he contacted St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies.

The suspect, whose name is being withheld to protect the identify of the child, is accused of entering the girl’s room on several nights and looking “up her night clothes,” Bonnett said.

One night his urges allegedly went too far and he touched her, Bonnett said.

The victim is currently living with her father in Mississippi and undergoing counseling, Bonnett said.