A Washington Parish jury last week found a 56-year-old Franklinton, La., man guilty of first-degree rape of two Pike County siblings.

District Attorney Collin Sims said the jury returned several guilty verdicts against Shannon Polkey on May 22 after deliberating for just over an hour following the four-day trial. Polkey was convicted of two counts of first-degree rape of children under the age of 13, one count of sexual battery of a child under the age of 13, and one count of failure to register as a sex offender.  

According to trial testimony, the victims, a young brother and sister, voluntarily left their mother’s custody in Pike County when their mother lost her home in the summer of 2019.

The children were taken in by the defendant, his wife, and his daughter in Franklinton. They remained in the care of Polkey’s family through April 2022, when the boy told authorities about Polkey.

Sims said in a written statement that while in Polkey’s home the children were physically and verbally abused. The siblings testified to being struck with paddles, being forced to kneel on air conditioner vents on the floor, and being forced to stand for extended periods of time with their foreheads pressed against a wall, Sims said.

The boy, who was between the ages of 8 and 10 while living in the defendant’s home, testified he was sexually abused by Polkey and threatened to remain silent about the acts.

Both the boy and his sister, who was between the ages of 7 and 9 while living in the defendant’s home, testified that Polkey would also sexually abuse them together while he watched, Sims said.

During the trial, the jury heard from the guidance counselor at the Washington Parish school the victims attended during the time period of the abuse. She described a meeting she had with the male victim in April of 2022, when he told her about the abuse.

 The counselor contacted the Department of Children and Family Services, which began an investigation and referred the case to law enforcement.

Additionally, the jury learned that the defendant was convicted of forcible rape of a juvenile in 1987 in Washington Parish. He received a sentence of 15 years in prison. That conviction also carried a requirement that the defendant registered as a sex offender for the remainder of his life; however, he had lived in Franklinton for years, but had only registered as a sex offender in Tylertown, Mississippi, intentionally concealing his residence in Franklinton from law enforcement.

Judge William Burris remanded Polkey to jail pending sentencing, which is set for July 1.

First degree rape carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison. Sexual battery of a child under age 13 carries a sentence of 25 to 99 years in prison. Failure to register as a sex offender carries a sentence of two to 10 years in prison.