A Louisiana woman was ordered to pay her accused rapist child support after sheriff 'dropped the ball'

The Louisiana sheriff's department dropped the ball in a case where a woman was ordered to pay child support.

Crysta Abelseth was ordered to give up custody of her teenage daughter by Judge Jeffrey C. Cashe with the Tangipahoa Parish courthouse.

The story was uncovered by WBRZ, a local television station in Baton Rouge. The age of legal consent in Louisiana is 17

Barnes told her he would drive her home but instead brought her to his house where she said he raped her.

The pregnant woman didn't report the incident to authorities. The court records obtained by WBRZ show that Barnes is the father.

He wanted to take my daughter away from me after he found out about my daughter. Even though the child was raped, they gave him 50 percent of the custody.

Barnes has denied committing a felony rape.

According to WBRZ, Judge Cashe decided to give Barnes sole custody after he alleged that a cellphone was given to their teenage daughter.

Gumbeaux Digital branding is a company owned by Barnes. After WBRZ reported the story, the Ponchatoula Police were removed from his website.

Insider tried to reach Barnes by email and phone, but he didn't reply immediately.

Barnes was indicted by the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office. Barnes had been stalking and harassing her when she was raped. She reported it to the sheriff's department.

The Tangipahoa Sheriff's Office said in a post on Thursday that it wasn't assigned to the correct department to investigate.

Our department dropped the ball and we have to take responsibility for it. This mistake has never been a problem before or since, and we must keep it that way.

Scott Perrilloux is the district attorney for Louisiana's 21st District.

The Tangipahoa Sheriff's Office and the district attorney's office didn't reply to Insider's questions.