Hearing postponed on St. Tammany Parish coroner’s decision to remove sexual assault exam program
ST. TAMMANY PARISH, La. (WGNO) — A judicial hearing to consider the future of the St. Tammany Parish Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners Program has been indefinitely postponed.
The hearing had been scheduled for Monday, April 8.
The hearing comes following St. Tammany Parish Coroner Dr. Christopher Tape’s original decision to remove the SANE program from the coroner’s office and a temporary restraining order that prevents him from doing that.
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On March 24, the St. Tammany Legislative Delegation penned a letter stating they would “pursue all options in the legislature” to stop him from cutting the SANE Program.
“Cutting the SANE program in St. Tammany will leave thousands of survivors without access to highly trained forensic examiners. The decision to cut the SANE program is a grave disservice to survivors of sexual assault in those parishes,” the letter reads.
On March 28, Tape said he would reconsider bringing the program back after a lawsuit was filed by the Sexual Trauma Awareness and Response Center and three Louisiana coroners.
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In a news release, Tape said, “I’m willing to re-launch the program for a trial period while allowing the other parishes and agencies involved to develop alternative plans.”
On April 3, officials with STAR announced that a judge signed a temporary restraining order that requires Tape to keep the program going for the time being.
On Friday, April 5, WGNO asked Tape about the lawsuit and his thoughts on SANE nurses.
“Right now, I’m just concentrating on moving forward and doing the job for the people. They can trust me or not trust me. I’m going to keep doing the job for them and the people in the office trust me. That that’s the most important thing right now,” said Tape.
As of Monday, there is no rescheduled date for the hearing.
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