District Attorney Collin Sims reports that on June 26, 2025, a St. Tammany Parish jury deliberated for less than an hour before finding 63-year-old Oscar Alfred Paysse guilty of committing a sexual battery on an 8-year-old girl. At the time of the crime, the young girl’s family resided in the same Mandeville neighborhood as Paysse. Assistant District Attorneys Tiffany Dover and Luke Lancaster prosecuted the case with Judge Alan Black presiding over the three-day trial. Former St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office Detective Nicholas Fishel, now with Louisiana State Police, led the investigation.
According to testimony from the trial, a teenage girl disclosed to her mother that years earlier, a man who had lived near them sexually assaulted her. The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office was notified and an investigation was initiated. The teen was taken to the Children’s Advocacy Center’s Hope House in Covington where she was interviewed by forensic interviewer Heather Denenea. During the interview, the victim said when she was about 8 years old, she was playing alone in her front yard when Paysse approached her. The victim said Paysse and his family lived in her Mandeville neighborhood and Paysse’s daughter had occasionally babysat her. Paysse greeted the young girl and engaged her in conversation. Paysse told her he had something in his house he wanted to show her and coaxed her to accompany him back to his house. Once they entered his house, he escorted her to his bedroom and shut the door. He then removed all the victim’s clothing with the exception of her shirt and partially undressed himself. Paysse proceeded to sexually assault the young girl on his bed.
During the intervening years between the sexual assault and the victim’s disclosure of the abuse, Paysse moved to Kenner, Louisiana. Following the issuance of an arrest warrant for Paysse, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office effected his arrest. Paysse remained in custody while awaiting trial.
At the conclusion of the three-day trial, prosecutor Luke Lancaster noted for the jury the strength and bravery the victim demonstrated in coming into the courtroom and telling a courtroom filled with strangers the graphic details of the ordeal she endured at the hands of the defendant. Lancaster said that while no one was there for the victim when she was being sexually abused, “we can be there for her now.” During her closing argument to the jury, defense counsel attacked the victim’s claim that Paysse sexually assaulted her. “It’s not true. I don’t know why she lied.” In response, ADA Tiffany Dover told the jury “It would take a monster to make up a lie such as this. But the only monster in this courtroom is the man seated at that table.” In her final remarks, Dover told the jury the victim wasn’t seeking their sympathy. “She wants justice. Justice for her and justice for the defendant.”
Judge Black set Paysse’s sentencing for August 6, 2025. Sexual battery of a child under the age of 13 carries up to 99 years in prison, at least 25 of which must be served without parole.
District Attorney Collin Sims wishes to acknowledge the vital services the Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) in Covington provides to many young victims of sexual abuse in our local communities. During this particular trial, several professionals affiliated with CAC provided expert-witness testimony to assist the jury in understanding how sexual abuse impacts children and the various ways children cope with the abuse.
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