Man indicted in two rapes 12 years apart
A Baker man was indicted Wednesday in the kidnappings and rapes of a 22-year-old woman on July 27, and a 14-year-old girl in 2000.
Michael A. Rushing, 48, 14185 Brown Road, was booked July 28 in the most recent incident; and Aug. 6 in the 2000 case. East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office officials have said Rushing was linked to the older case through a DNA match.
An East Baton Rouge Parish grand jury charged Rushing with forcible rape and second-degree kidnapping in the 2000 incident, and aggravated rape and second-degree kidnapping in the recent incident.
In the July incident, Rushing allegedly kidnapped a woman at gunpoint from the Bone and Joint Clinic’s parking area on Hennessy Boulevard near Essen Lane in Baton Rouge and raped her in Iberville Parish, authorities said.
Rushing then left the woman at a fast-food restaurant on Nicholson Drive, police have said.
In the 2000 incident, Rushing allegedly picked up the girl June 16 of that year while she was walking in her neighborhood at 10 p.m., Sheriff’s Office officials have said.
Rushing forced the girl into a truck and blindfolded her, then took her to a residence where he raped her, Sheriff’s Office officials said. Rushing then dropped the girl off back in her neighborhood, authorities said.
In Louisiana, an aggravated rape conviction carries an automatic sentence of life in prison. Forcible rape and second-degree kidnapping each carry sentences of five to 40 years in prison.
Rushing’s case has been assigned to state District Judge Mike Erwin.