A Eunice man has been accused of rape and cyberstalking, police say.
Judson Eldridge, 50, was booked with cyberstalking, second-degree rape and filing false public records. He's a professor at LSU Eunice, and been placed on administrative leave.
Eunice Police allege he filed a false report with them, accusing the victim of using CashApp to take money from him without his permission.
When police began to investigate the case, they say they learned that Eldridge had voluntarily sent funds to the vicitm using CashApp. They also allege that prior to the CashApp payments, Eldridge and the victim met at a restaurant and then decided to go to his apartment. At the apartment, police allege, they had a couple of drinks and the victim felt lightheaded and sleepy, and went to sleep. When she woke up, she was being raped. The victim escaped the apartment, but after that Eldridge continued to try to contact her using CashApp, police allege.
Eldridge is employed by LSU Eunice, police say. According to his CV which is posted online, he holds a PhD from LSU with a concentration in Interpersonal Communication.
When we reached out to LSU Eunice, they told us he'd been placed on administrative leave, and they also sent us a communiation that LSU Eunice Chancellor Dr. Nancee Sorenson has sent to students, faculty and staff about Eldridge's arrest.
Here's the communication; we've removed personal emails and telephone numbers that were included in the original.
LSU Eunice Community,
I wanted to notify you that late Wednesday afternoon, a professor at LSU Eunice was arrested by the Eunice Police Department. Upon receiving news of this arrest, we placed the professor in question on administrative leave. While the judicial process must be allowed to play out, we want to make very clear that the alleged behavior will not be tolerated by anyone associated with our campus. The safety and security of our LSUE students, staff, faculty, and the community we serve is of the utmost importance to me, and to all of us at LSUE.
It should be noted that to our knowledge, the victim in this incident is not an LSU Eunice student, staff, or faculty member. The Eunice Police Department is handling the investigation, and we will cooperate in any way necessary.
In light of this event, we want to make our LSU Eunice community aware of resources available to victims of sexual violence. The LSUE Office of the Title IX Coordinator exists to enforce the university’s sex-based discrimination policies, educate the community about our policies and practices, connect people to resources that can support them if they experience discrimination or retaliation, and listen to the concerns of the campus community.
There are also designated, trained confidential advisors at LSU Eunice who provide emergency and ongoing support to survivors of sexual violence. Our confidential advisors at LSU Eunice are Dr. Doug Narby and Kathleen Warner.
You can also find a full list of support services and resources available to the LSUE Community at www.lsue.edu/titleix/resources.php. Some of them include Hearts of Hope (https://theheartsofhope.org/), Faith House of Acadiana (https://faithhouseacadiana.com), and the St. Landry-Evangeline Sexual Assault Center (https://slesac.org/ ).
Our campus also offers mental health counseling services which you can find at https://www.lsue.edu/studentaffairs/counseling.php.
Again, I want to stress how much we value the safety and security of our students, staff, faculty, and the community we serve. Please reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns.
