Facing a simple rape felony charge, Lafayette attorney Scott Hawkins entered a guilty plea yesterday to second-degree battery. The lesser charge is also a felony.
District Judge Glennon Everett sentenced the 35-year-old Hawkins & Villamerette attorney to a five-year suspended sentence and three years probation.
Hawkins was accused of raping a former receptionist after a party at his law firm in March of last year. The trial was set to begin yesterday, but Hawkins chose to accept a plea agreement from the DA. The woman claimed she awoke on a couch at the office after the party and found Hawkins, who had been drinking, on top of her.
The Advocate reported today that the Office of Disciplinary Counsel will begin to seek Hawkin’s immediate interim suspension from the practice of law based on the facts of the case. Read The Advocate story here.