[StBernard] Two Meraux men booked with rape of 13-year-old girl

[Westley Annis]

Two Meraux men booked with rape of 13-year-old girl
by The Times-Picayune 
Thursday January 15, 2009, 9:59 AM
Two Meraux men have been booked with the aggravated rape of a 13-year-old
girl, St. Bernard Parish authorities said.

Cornell "Duke'' Young, 31, 2320 Bartolo Drive, and Gabriel Nelson, 17, 2008
Walkers Lane, met the girl through a telephone party line, then arranged to
meet her in person, the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office said.

The girl is from Lacombe and had agreed to allow one of the men to come to
Lacombe and pick her up, the Sheriff's Office said. She left home without
her mother's knowledge and was transported by Nelson and Young to an
apartment complex on Golden Drive in Chalmette, where a friend of the men
lived.

The girl told investigators that the men had sex with her at the apartment,
alleging that one held her down. She also said other men came to the
apartment and had sexual contact with her, authorities said.

The girl was returned to her home in Lacombe after the Jan. 11 incident,
authorities said.

The Sheriff's Office said Nelson admitted having sex with the girl, but that
Young denied it.

The investigation continues.

Young remains in the parish jail in lieu of $200,000 bond. Nelson posted
$200,000 property bond and was released from jail, authorities said.

A conviction for aggravated rape carries a maximum penalty of life in
prison.