What did Kaivon Washington do? Suspect in Madison Brooks case faces separate charge for 2020 incident

On Friday, January 27, 18-year-old Kaivon Washington turned himself in for the s*xual assault of Madison Brooks, a Louisiana State University student who reportedly died in a car accident after a group of boys abused her.

According to The Independent, Kaivon Washington is among four suspects linked to the incident. Court documents indicate that this is not Washington's first brush with the law, as he was reportedly accused of physically abusing a 12-year-old girl in 2020.

While the 2020 case supposedly went cold, it resurfaced after Washington's name was linked to the Madison Brooks incident.

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Madison Brooks' assault suspect's history of violence

As per the New York Post, one day after Kayvon Washington was released on bond after his arrest for the Madison Brooks assault, he was arrested again for the 2020 cold case.

WRBZ stated that when Kayvon Washington was 15, he was accused of assaulting a 12-year-old at an apartment complex in Livington Parish. The girl told police officers that Washington took her towel and abused her for 30 minutes.

While the case initially went cold, with Washington denying the allegations, a witness in the 2020 incident came forward soon after the suspect was arrested for the Madison Brooks assault case.

The arrest report stated:

“She witnessed the accused enter the victim’s bedroom, but denied hearing any voices or sounds that would have led her to think (that there was an assault."

Ron Haley, the lawyer representing Washington, said that he is suspicious that the 2020 allegations only came to light after news of Madison's accident on January 15, 2023. Haley said:

“Mr. Washington and his mother cooperated with the investigation two years ago, and law enforcement took no action."

He added:

"Upon the review of the new statement from a witness that came forward yesterday, we are concerned not only of the timing of this statement, but whether it meets the threshold of probable cause.”

WDSU reported that in the recent Madison Brooks case, Washington and his friends supposedly assaulted the LSU student in their car before dumping her on the side of the road. Brooks, whose blood alcohol levels indicated that she was inebriated at the time, was dropped on the side of the road before being fatally struck by a vehicle.

In an interview with WAFB, Haley said:

“They did not just dump her out of the car. They did not force her out of the vehicle. I think at one point one of the others tried to calm the situation down and say, look just kind of get back in the car. She doesn’t want to.”

Besides Washington, the two other adult suspects linked to the Brooks assault are currently out on bond.