Plea spares NOLA rapist a life term

A former New Orleans police officer has pleaded guilty to the 2003 rape of his ex-girlfriend's child.

Forty-three-year-old Michael Thomassie had been convicted of first-degree rape in 2015. However, the conviction, which carries a life sentence, was overturned on appeal.

On Monday, he pleaded guilty to second-degree rape and sexual molestation of a juvenile under age 13. He received 10 years on the molestation charge, but with eight years of that suspended. He received five years on the second-degree rape charge.

He would become eligible for parole after serving two years and is being given credit for more than a year already served.

The District Attorney's Office said the plea deal was accepted after the victim, now age 22, said she didn't want to go through a second trial.