The Louisiana Court of Appeals reinstates the conviction of a BRPD officer accused of groping a motorist

BATON ROUGE – A state appeals court on Thursday reinstated the sentencing of a Baton Rouge police officer accused of grabbing a motorist's breasts, saying Judge Eboni Johnson Rose had no right to overturn his conviction after initially dismissing him found guilty.

In trying to overturn a conviction, prosecutors took a gamble: The state Supreme Court had already this year ordered the acquittal of a woman who originally convicted Rose. The Constitution prohibits double jeopardy – double jeopardy for the same crime.

In the case decided Thursday involving BRPD Officer Donald Steele, Rose initially convicted the officer of disorderly conduct, a crime that does not exist. At a hearing three weeks later, she ordered his acquittal but allowed prosecutors to appeal their decision.

And since prosecutors appealed, the state Supreme Court suspended Rose over concerns that she was improperly applying the law.

The 1st District Court of Appeal explained that up to a point, the judge had the right to enter a verdict of acquittal after the verdict. Judges can intervene if they believe the state's evidence does not warrant a conviction.

But Rose went so far as to actually convict Steele and then acquit him, even though there was no motion to do so, the court said.

“The trial court found the defendant guilty … and then later decided to change the guilty verdict to not guilty at a later trial date,” the three-judge panel said.

Prosecutors said that at this stage in the proceedings, only an appeals court could grant a reversal.

Steele's attorney says he will appeal to the state Supreme Court.

“This was always a case that would go to a higher court,” defense attorney Franz Borghardt said in an interview.

District Attorney Hillar Moore III thanked him.

“We are grateful that the Court of Appeals reinstated defendant Steele’s conviction for abuse of office,” Moore said. “The Court of Appeal’s decision restores our victims’ trust in the legal system.”

Steele was accused of groping a woman he stopped near LSU in 2021. Prosecutors say he ordered the woman to follow him to a warehouse on Chippewa Street.

In an earlier double jeopardy case, the state Supreme Court acquitted a former Broadmoor Elementary School teacher whose aggravated assault conviction was initially returned as an acquittal because there was no connection between Rose and a jury.

A judge said Rose's breach of legal process “shocks the conscience.”

Bridgette Digerolamo, 42, was fired by the East Baton Rouge Parish School District after video showed her waving a gun at a car driving on a flooded street in her Shenandoah neighborhood in 2020. Prosecutors say Digerolamo also hit the car with a baseball bat.

Rose released Bridgette Digerolamo after a trial on assault charges, but a few minutes later Rose summoned the teacher to the courtroom and sentenced her. Rose said she met with the jury after the trial and learned they wanted to convict the ex-teacher on a lesser charge.

The judges said the teacher could not be convicted after his acquittal.