Things have not been too good for Opelousas Mayor Donald Cravins lately. He recently lost his bid for re-election as the city's mayor. And now he has been found guilty of conspiracy by a federal civil jury for his role in a child custody dispute while serving as a Louisiana State Senator.

According to court documents, the jury ruled Cravins and the city of Opelousas must pay $400,000 in damages to Resa Latiolais, who sued Cravins, two other men, the city of Opelousas, and the Opelousas Police Department.

Documents show that Latiolais proved Cravins “acted with malice, willfulness or indifference to the constitutional right of Latiolais and with such shocking, offensive and reprehensible conduct as to justify an award of punitive damages against him.”

The incident involving Latiolais occurred in 2006 when she was arrested for simple battery during an attempt by her ex-boyfriend, Bradley Griffith, to gain custody of their son. Latiolais claimed that Griffith conspired with Cravins and Opelousas police officer Ricky Gallow to have her arrested and the two conspired to influence the outcome of her custody trial.

Cravins, however, contended that he followed through with his lawful duties as a state senator and was only following state and federal laws.

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