WBR men face sex charges

• By GREG GARLAND
• Advocate Westside bureau
• Published: Oct 25, 2008 - Page: 1B - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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Agents with the Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control obtained arrest warrants on Friday for three adult men accused of engaging in sexual activity with teenage high school girls lured to “beer pong” drinking parties at homes in West Baton Rouge Parish.

The girls, high school students ages 15 and 16, also were coaxed into stripping in front of others, officials said. The men communicated with the students via cell phone and on MySpace pages on the Internet, where agents discovered “lewd pictures and comments” posted about the activities at the drinking parties, authorities said.

Alcohol and Tobacco Control Commissioner Murphy J. Painter said a two-month investigation by agents led to warrants for the arrests of three Port Allen men — Luther Fleming III, 21, 12132 Patricia Ave.; Brandon Collins II, 22,  6128 Flynn Road; and Daryl Swanson Jr., 19,  3838 Rougon Road.

Painter said a complaint from a concerned parent in Erwinville trigged the investigation.

Collins surrendered to agents on Friday and was booked into the West Baton Rouge Parish Correctional Facility, Painter said. Swanson has been in contact with authorities and is expected to surrender, but agents had not been able to locate Fleming as of Friday evening, he said.

In a written news release issued late on Friday, Painter said investigators found that the high school students were engaging in a game called “strip beer pong” in which individuals on the losing teams were required to drink large amounts of alcohol and remove their clothes.

He said some of the juveniles participated in the games while others watched as they stripped. The men would later engage in sexual activity with the underage girls, he said.

Alcohol and Tobacco Control Deputy Commissioner Brant Thompson said he contacted West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff Mike Cazes on Friday and the Sheriff’s Office is assisting in the search for Fleming.

Thompson said about a half dozen juvenile girls, all “from the West Baton Rouge area,” were involved in the parties and sexual activities.

“There were several girls involved and multiple encounters,” Thompson said.

He declined to say where the parties were held, noting the “still ongoing investigation.”

All three men implicated in the case face prosecution on felony offenses, Painter said.

Fleming was booked with two counts of  carnal knowledge of a juvenile; one count as principal to carnal knowledge of a juvenile and five counts of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile.