Former RPSO deputy arrested in 2016 for soliciting prostitutes pleads guilty to malfeasance in office

Former Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office deputy Stacy Bender pleaded guilty to one felony count of malfeasance in office as part of an arranged plea deal with the DA's office at the Rapides Parish Courthouse Monday morning.

His sentence to serve three years of hard labor was suspended.

He was instead sentenced by Judge Mary Doggett to three years of probation and ordered to pay a $500 fine plus court costs.

He was represented by attorney George Higgins.

Bender was arrested by Louisiana State Police in July 2016 after their investigation found that Bender allegedly had an on-going sexual relationship with a prostitute. He was indicted on charges of filing false public records, abuse of office and malfeasance in office.

"We were inflexible on giving the man a misdemeanor, even though he spent a lot of time in law enforcement," said special prosecutor Hugo Holland.

"We certainly do hold law enforcement officers to at least follow the law, and when we've got officers that don't do that, we take it seriously, and we don't negotiate. If you commit a felony as a police officer, you're going to have to plead guilty to a felony."

See the related links section of this page for more information on the case.