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The son of the judge presiding over the gang rape cases of Louisiana State University student Madison Brooks before her death is a convicted serial rapist, according to media reports.
The trial for Desmond Carter, 21, one of the three men accused of raping Madison Brooks in a vehicle before her death in January 2023, is slated to go before Judge Gail Ray on Aug. 17, according to WBRZ.
Brooks was a 19-year-old LSU student when she was fatally struck by a car after a group of men allegedly raped her, then dumped her out of a vehicle on a Baton Rouge highway in January 2023.
The judge’s bias and impartiality has come under fire as she represented her son, Nelson Taylor, 46, in his 1997 serial rape conviction, who recently reappeared in court to have his multiple convictions overturned, The Advocate reported.
The state previously moved to have Ray removed from the gang rape trials and in Nov. 2025, she was recused from the case.
District Attorney Hillar Moore’s office filed the recusal and said the request was based on previous rulings and Ray seeing evidence related to Brooks’ sexual history that was thrown out.