Lincoln Parish officials arrest two men, including visiting professor at Louisiana Tech

RUSTON, La. (KNOE) - The Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office has arrested two men, one accused of indecent behavior with a juvenile and one accused of possession of pornography involving juveniles.

Monte Garrett, 53, is charged with indecent behavior with a juvenile. Garrett is a visiting professor at Louisiana Tech University.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations, Louisiana Bureau of Investigations (LBI) and LPSO began a joint investigation on Garrett after they say they received a tip he had been communicating with a person he thought was a 14-year-old girl.

LPSO says the conversations Garrett was having were sexual. The investigation began last week and Garrett was arrested on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022.

In a different investigation, LBI and LPSO arrested Ralph Richards who is accused of possession of pornography involving juveniles.

LPSO says they started investigating Richards after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Richards was booked into Lincoln Parish Detention Center.

Both are ongoing investigations and LPSO says more charges are possible.

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