Madison Brooks, 19, was fatally hit by a car in East Baton Rouge, LA, on January 15, 2023, after she was left on the side of the road by four men accused of raping her in the back of an Uber

Kaivon Washington, 18, Casen Carver, 18, and Desmond Carter, 17, are charged with first-degree rape, third-degree rape and video voyeurism

A Louisiana appeals court Tuesday ruled the defendants can’t use the victim’s sex life prior to alleged gang rape, in defense submissions

Carver and Carter filed a motion last March claiming they never raped Brooks, that injuries consistent with sexual assault found on her body weren’t their doing

Instead they claimed, Brooks had consensual rough sex with another Louisiana State University student the prior night, it was that encounter that caused the injuries, Carver and Carter said

DA, Hillar Moore, filed counter motion arguing the filing was ‘totally inappropriate and not in accordance with the applicable rules of law’ asking the court to disallow defendant’s motion

If convicted, suspects contend with Louisiana’s first-degree rape statute which carries a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole

Madison Brooks, [photo], was fatally hit by a car in East Baton Rouge, Louisiana , on January 15, 2023, after she was left on the side of the road by four teens. Three have charged with raping the 19-year-old Louisiana State University student

A Louisiana Appeals court has ruled that details of a student’s rough sex with a classmate the night before she was allegedly, gang raped and killed can’t be cited by the defense team of defendant’s in the gang rape case.
Louisiana State University student, Madison Brooks, 19, was fatally hit by a car in East Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on January 15, 2023, after she was left on the side of the road by her accused rapists.
Fellow students Kaivon Washington, 18, Casen Carver, 18, and Desmond Carter, 17, are charged with first-degree rape and video voyeurism in the case. A fourth man, Everett Lee, was arrested at the time but ultimately not charged.
Carver and Carter claimed they never raped Brooks and that the injuries consistent with sexual assault found on her body weren’t their doing.
Instead, they claimed, Brooks had consensual rough sex with another Louisiana State University student the night prior. Her injuries the pair claimed, resulted from that encounter.
A motion filed by the defense last March claimed the evidence ‘will gut the State’s theory of the case’ and prove their innocence. District Attorney Hillar Moore in a counter motion called the filing ‘totally inappropriate and not in accordance with the applicable rules of law’ urging the appeals court to disallow defense motion.
The Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the prosecution on Tuesday, a year after both sides filed their motions.

L-R: Casen Carver, Kaivon Washington and Desmond Carter are charged with first-degree rape of Madison Brooks in addition to the charge of video voyeurism. A fourth man, Everett Lee, was arrested at the time but ultimately not charged

‘The evidence of [Brooks’] alleged past sexual behavior is excluded at this juncture,’ the majority decision of three judges read. 
‘The fundamental right to present a defense does not require the trial court to admit irrelevant evidence or evidence with such little probative value that it is substantially outweighed by other legitimate considerations.’
The judges explained that that defense motion fell afoul of Louisiana’s rape shield law, which protects a victim’s sexual history from being brought up.
Defense lawyers are allowed to introduce exactly the evidence Carter and Carver’s propose to, under that specific circumstance, but the judges ruled it was premature.
‘The trial court has not yet ruled on the admissibility of the expert opinion that injuries to [Brooks] may be “suspicious for sexual assault” and thus whether the origin of the injuries may implicate’ a section of the rape shield law, they ruled.

Madison Brooks, [photo], died in a fatal hit by a car in East Baton Rouge, Louisiana , on January 15 after she was allegedly raped by four men. A Louisiana appeals court has ruled the defendants can’t use a rough sex with a classmate the night before she was allegedly gang raped and killed in her case

That section allows evidence of past sexual activity by a victim if it is ‘limited to a period not to exceed seventy-two hours prior to the time of the offense’.
The jury must also be instructed at the time that the evidence is introduced, and reminded before they deliberate, of the the ‘limited purpose for which the evidence is admitted’.
It is not yet clear if the issue could be revisited closer to, or during, the trial once the admissibility of the expert opinion is ruled on. 
Messrs Justice Hunter Greene and Steve Miller voted in favor of the DA. Justice Elizabeth Wolfe dissented, Her minority decision was to deny the prosecution’s motion.
‘We are pleased with the court’s ruling that will prohibit the defendant from introducing overly prejudicial and irrelevant evidence at the trial,’ Moore said.

Madison Brooks, [photo], according to the charge sheet was raped by Carter and Washington in the back of their car while the other two suspects watched after a night of drinking at a bar in Tigerland

Washington, Carver, and Carter were changed by a grand jury in 2023, and a fourth man, Everett Lee, was arrested but not charged.
Brooks was allegedly raped in the back of the men’s car while the other suspects watched after a night of drinking at a bar in Tigerland.
The suspects then allegedly left Brooks stumbling and drunk on the side of a busy four-lane highway.
She was hit by a car about 3am and died from her injuries. 
Brooks’ alleged rapists claim they did not rape her and only consensual sex happened in the back of the car.

Louisiana authorities released several video footage from that night including one that shows Brooks running after the group of men who have been indicted in the events leading to her death

Brooks was last seen drunkenly stumbling out of Reggie’s bar, with the group. In other footage Brooks can be seen running after the group of men on the night she died.
Fellow Varsity football player Washington has been accused of raping another young woman who claims he attacked her in October 2023 after targeting her at Reggie’s, the same bar where the group met Brooks.
The victim in that case said she was too drunk to go home so asked if she could stay at one of Washington’s friend’s apartments.
According to his arrest affidavit, they all went back to the home together, where she and the friend started having sex in front of Kaivon Washington.
The friend allegedly became more ‘aggressive’, pinning her down and ignoring her pleas for him to ‘stop’.

This 29-second clip shows Madison appearing to tell one the accused rapists, Desmond Carter, to ‘get out’ of the car so she can ‘Uber on her own’

Washington was watching but then approached and felt the victim’s breast and vagina, the affidavit claims.
The alleged incident is the third accusation of rape to have been made against 18-year-old Kaivon Washington.
In addition to Brooks, he is accused of having raped a 12-year-old girl in 2020 after following her home from a pool party when he was 15.
The Walker High School Varsity Football player has been charged with first-degree rape in that case, with prosecutors vowing to upgrade the charges in relation to Brooks.

Madison Brooks [photo], died after being hit by a ride-share car at 3am on January 15, when she was dropped off by the four men who had picked her up at a college bar

Lawyers for Washington previously submitted video footage to the court in an attempt to prove that the drunk sorority girl was able to consent to the acts. Instead, the judge felt it showed ‘criminality’.
In the footage Washington can be heard in the footage laughing at Brooks as she slurs her words after the alleged anal rape.
Louisiana’s first-degree rape statute carries a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Brooks died after being hit by a ride-share car at 3am on January 15, when she was dropped off by the four men.
Two Good Samaritans reportedly stopped to perform CPR on the sophomore LSU student after the collision.

Carson Carter, [photo], has been formally charged with the first-degree rape of Madison Brooks. However, a grand jury chose not to indict him on one count of kidnapping

East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s Office says they were guided by first responders on the phone in the pouring rain after Brooks was hit by the ride-share car.
The ME’s office confirmed that Brooks died from ‘multiple traumatic injuries’ when she was hit by a car after allegedly being raped.
Police confirmed that the driver of the vehicle will not be charged as he was not impaired and contacted emergency services immediately.

Madison Brooks, who worked at Reggie’s is seen, [left], behind the bar with two sorority sisters, had been drinking at the bar before she was raped by four fellow students, before they dumped her by the roadside and fatally struck by a car on January 14

This would be the third accusation of rape against Kaivon Washington, [photo], including First-degree rape of a 12-year-old girl as a 15-year-old high school football player. He is charged with First-degree and Third -degree rape and abduction of Madi Brooks

The bar where Madison Brooks worked, according to several social media posts, has shared culpability in her fate, as surveillance footage surrounding Reggie’s bar, where the group met, shows the 19-year-old college student drunk and stumbling around, according to police documents.
The Louisiana ATC has confirmed that they have suspended the license of Reggie’s Bar following the ‘seriousness of the allegations and potential threat to public safety’.