Man who kidnapped and raped LSU student at gunpoint in 2017 sentenced to 30 years in prison

BATON ROUGE – A Baton Rouge man who kidnapped an LSU student from her fraternity and raped her at gunpoint has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Frank Alvaro Herrera Jr., 28, pleaded guilty to rape, kidnapping and armed robbery in early May before Monday’s sentencing. Herrera’s guilty plea nullified his initial charge of first-degree rape, which resulted in a life sentence and a second-degree conviction that carried a 30-year sentence.

A lifetime protective order was also filed against Herrera as part of his sentencing, according to court records.

According to his arrest warrant from March 2017, Herrera grabbed the female victim from the fraternity fight, forced her into her car at gunpoint and drove to an off-campus park. Herrera then forced the victim to perform oral sex on him while he continued to hold her at gunpoint.

Herrera then drove the victim to the Jim & Lu Food Mart on Government Street and told her to buy condoms, the warrant states. The victim sought help from store employees, who called police. Herrera then left the store and took the victim’s vehicle back to campus, where it was found parked in fraternity row.

LSUPD later found clothing, DNA and other evidence — including a handgun wrapped in a red bandana, both of which matched the victim’s description — linking Herrera to the kidnapping and rape. Herrera was arrested by LSUPD at his girlfriend’s house and her home and confessed to kidnapping and raping the victim, the arrest warrant states.