LIVINGSTON — During the COVID-19 pandemic, Samantha Smith and her husband were facing challenges beyond just the virus. They had sold their house, and Smith had quit her job to care for her mother-in-law. In January 2021, her mother-in-law passed away, leaving a void in their extended family. Tragically, Smith also lost other family members to the virus.
Smith’s husband had a nephew who had been raised like a brother: Jordan Touchet. The men were close. One day, after a friend canceled plans with her, Smith and her husband asked Touchet and his wife about hanging out. Smith’s husband decided not to continue with plans because he had to wake up early the next day for work.
Smith originally wanted to cancel after that, but Touchet and his wife convinced her to still hang out with them. Being close family, Smith didn’t object and had drinks with them. Because she had been drinking and felt safe with her family, Smith said she decided not to risk driving home.
She fell asleep at their house and close to 4 a.m., she tells UWK that she woke up to the feeling that something was wrong. She got up, called her husband and drove back home. From there, the couple went to the emergency room where she says they contacted police and ordered a rape kit.
She said the DNA from the kit later came back with a match: Jordan Touchet.
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UWK reached out to both the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office and Louisiana State Police about how Touchet’s DNA would have been already on file. LSP has access to a national database, CODIS (Combined DNA Index System), that allows state and local crime labs to electronically exchange and compare DNA profiles, but it does not maintain it or keep files on hand, a State Police spokesperson told UWK.
“It had hurt,” she said. “He’s family. He’s like a brother to my husband and an uncle to my son, who was nine at the time.”
After that night, her son noticed the change in his mother immediately, asking why she was always crying and wouldn’t leave the bedroom. Smith and her husband decided that he needed to know.
“He took in a lot at nine years old,” she lamented.
They also lost members of the family who stopped speaking with the couple because of the situation. Smith said she’s had more support from strangers she’s told the story to than family or friends.
‘A slap in the face’
Touchet was arrested around nine months after the DNA revelation for third-degree rape, but has been out on bond since then.
“It was a slap in the face, him being out on bond for an arrest charge of a felony like that,” Smith said. “Because he left the state, he left the country, went on cruises, all without addressing the court about it. You’re supposed to have approval from the judge so that you can go and do those luxury things.”
She said the judicial process has been a lengthy one since the alleged crime was in 2021.
Instead of going to trial to be sentenced, Touchet recently pleaded out to the charge of sexual assault. He received five years of probation and 15 years on the sex offender registry.
There may be more victims
Smith says there may be other victims of rape out there, who are simply afraid to come forward for many reasons: people not believing the victim, embarrassment or it’s been a long while now.
“It’s a lot to have to sit here and go through everything that may have happened to you,” she told UWK.
In fact, she told UWK about another woman she spoke with who went to Touchet’s house where Touchet allegedly made drinks for the woman, his wife and himself. The woman told Smith that after drinking it, she woke up several hours later when it was dark and was unable to remember anything that had happened. At that point, she left to return home.
Smith admits that in these scenarios, although things might feel suspicious, it can be hard to confront the situation when you aren’t sure what actually happened – especially when it’s your word against two others.
Another difficult aspect of coming forward for victims is when the perpetrator is close, like a family member.
The decision to speak out
“He was a family member for 12 years. It’s not just about him and it’s not just about me,” Smith explained to UWK. The decision wasn’t one she took lightly.
“I wanted to speak out, not for myself, but for other people. I want them to know that it’s okay to speak out, because monsters like him don’t deserve to continuously hurt people in a manner that he has.”
Jordan Touchet pleaded guilty to sexual battery on June 11, but was back to jail the next week for failing to satisfy all the requirements of registering as a sex offender. He failed to report on his personal and business Facebook pages that he was a sex offender, which is a legal requirement. Touchet is being held until his next monitoring court date in September.
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