MERRYVILLE, La. (KPLC) - A Merryville police officer has traded his uniform for an orange jumpsuit after a young child said he sexually abused her for several years.

A Merryville High School student told a school resource officer in late October that Steven Thomas Davis, 29, sexually assaulted her from 2019 to 2025, Beauregard Parish Sheriff Mark Herford said. The Merryville Police Department put him on administrative leave pending an investigation.

The Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s Office arrested Davis on Nov. 18 on counts of first-degree rape of a victim under 13 and aggravated crime against nature.

Davis was booked into the Vernon Parish jail because he used to work for BPSO, Herford said. Jail records show he remains in custody as of Dec. 1.

Merryville High is a K-12 school.

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