Decision to Force Victim to Pay Child Support to Alleged Rapist Reversed

The public was infuriated after a judge made a woman pay child support to her alleged rapist. Now the judge has reversed his decision according to the latest update in the case reported by WBRZ.

The judge dealing with a paternity and custody case involving the child of Crysta Abelseth and John Barnes reversed his earlier decision to give Barnes temporary custody of the child and make Abelseth pay child support payments.

Crysta Abelseth says that John Barnes raped her when she was sixteen after he offered to give her a ride home while they were leaving a restaurant in 2005. Abelseth says he didn't take her to her home but to his house instead. She says he raped her on his living room couch.

Barnes denies the allegation that he raped Abelseth. In the state of Louisiana, you can't consent to have sex at the age of 16, and Barnes was 30 years old in 2005.

Five years after she alleges she was assaulted Barnes found out he was the father, and a paternity test proved it in 2011. This year, Barnes was given custody of the now 16-year-old girl, and Abelseth was ordered to pay child support.

Judge Jeffrey Cashe has now reversed his decision.

Click here to read our initial report of this story.

Abelseth began speaking out about this case after the decision was made to give custody to Barnes. She says the investigation of the rape complaint that she made years ago was never investigated. She claims Barnes told her he was "well-connected".

The Tangipahoa Sheriff Daniel Edwards said in a statement this week that they "dropped the ball" when it came to investigating the woman's rape allegation. Click here to read that story.

Barnes gave an interview to Fox News Digital saying that Abelseth's allegations are "all lies". Click here to read that story.

The story of an alleged rape victim being forced to pay child support to the man who raped her, that she lost custody of the child and that her rape allegations were never investigated have made headlines across the globe.

Another trial date to establish custody is slated to happen on Wednesday, July 15.

As details of the case continue to emerge even more starting details have been released including the following reported by WBRZ:

In January 2021, the child's school counselor notified the Department of Children and Family Services that the girl alleged Barnes physically and mentally abused her. In February 2022, court documents noted for the first time that their daughter was conceived by rape, and it was alleged that Barnes drugged and sexually assaulted his daughter.

“She was transported to New Orleans where she was evaluated and the doctor confirmed that there was evidence of forced entry congruent with sexual assault,” the document read.

Despite that, Judge Cashe dismissed Abelseth's claims and said evidence didn't support the teen's allegations of abuse, though it wasn't clear what evidence the judge used to reach that conclusion.

We will continue to keep you updated on the latest with this case.