Son of judge overseeing Louisiana gang rape case is convicted serial rapist

The judge overseeing the upcoming trial of a man accused in the death of LSU student Madison Brooks revealed her son is a convicted serial rapist who is currently seeking to overturn his convictions.

Judge Gail Ray is scheduled to preside over the trial of Desmond Carter, 21, one of three men charged in connection with the alleged rape of Brooks, according to WBRZ. Carter’s trial is set to begin Aug. 17.

Brooks, 19, was a Louisiana State University student who died in January 2023 after she was allegedly raped by a group of men inside a vehicle before being left on a Baton Rouge highway and struck by a car.

Ray's son, Nelson Taylor, was convicted in 1997 on three counts of forcible rape and five counts of aggravated burglary. The crimes involved multiple victims, including some classmates, and occurred between fall 1995 and spring 1996 when Taylor was a high school student, according to The Advocate.

Taylor was sentenced to 50 years in prison, though a 2001 post-conviction agreement reduced the charges by dismissing the burglary convictions. The Louisiana Supreme Court later ruled in 2023 that the practice of altering plea agreements after conviction was unconstitutional.

Taylor, now 46, returned to court on July 22 seeking to have his rape convictions and sentences overturned. His attorneys argued that he should be allowed to enter a new guilty plea with a sentence no greater than the original sentence.

Ray’s involvement in the Brooks case previously led prosecutors to seek her removal. The East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney’s Office filed a motion for recusal, citing previous rulings and Ray’s exposure to evidence regarding Brooks’ sexual history that was later excluded.

A message from another defendant, Casen Carver, 22, was also included in court documents. Carver allegedly texted his father that Ray’s “son was accused of rape a while back so she knows to help us,” according to WBRZ. Ray was initially removed from the cases in November 2025, but the Louisiana Supreme Court later ruled that the state had not met the legal standard required to remove her after an appeal from Carver’s attorney.

Taylor was previously released on parole but was arrested again in 2024 on an obscenity charge. His latest legal proceedings had been delayed after judges in the 19th Judicial District Court and District Attorney Hillar Moore’s office recused themselves because of his relationship to Judge Ray.