Public relations consultant Rannah Gray will lead a book talk next week on her award-winning work Familiar Evil, which is a true crime exposé of Baton Rouge television personality Scott Rogers, who was revealed to be a child predator.
Gray, who lives in Baton Rouge, was a confidential informant in the federal investigation of Rogers, who was killed in a murder-suicide in Baton Rouge in 2014 amid allegations that he had sexually abused numerous children. More than two decades earlier, Rogers had been a principal at a performing arts academy in England where he was brought up on charges up sexual assault against one of his students. The trial ended in a hung jury that allowed Rogers to quietly slip out of the country.
The case rocked the Baton Rouge community who had known Rogers as the host of his own weekend morning talk show that ran nearly 10 years. The case also spilled over into Lafayette to avoid Rogers’ political connections when it was brought to the attention of Assistant U.S. Attorney Luke Walker, who had a 20-year history of prosecuting child exploitation cases.
Familiar Evil not only chronicles Gray’s journey through the investigation but reveals details of the international hunt for Rogers that were previously unknown to the public as told from the perspectives of those within the investigation as well as the victims of Rogers’ abuse.
The Familiar Evil Book Talk will feature several speakers, including the author and Mary Jane Marcantel, who was a key figure in the investigation. Also speaking will be Ashley Alis, director of CASA SOLA, and Kim Brooks, director of Hearts of Hope Children’s Advocacy Center, in an effort to make people aware of the local resources available to them and their children.
The Book Talk is Wednesday, Nov. 9, starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Lafayette South Regional Library. For more information, visit www.FamiliarEvil.com.