A Third District Judicial Court court jury late last week convicted former Grambling fire chief Patrick Aaron Conley on two counts of second-degree rape, two counts of second-degree sexual battery, one count of aggravated second-degree battery and one count of domestic abuse battery with child endangerment.
A jury of eight men and four women ruled on April 1 that Conley had raped and brualized his ex-wife Kimberly Danforth for more than three years before being arrested on April 21, 2021, after raping Danforth the night before.
Judge Bruce Hampton will render Conley’s sentence on May 10. He faces prison time of up to 123 years.
Conley attacked his wife the night of April 21 after she reportedly tried to calm him down in the midst of a post-traumatic stress disorder nightmare. Conley’s original arrest report said he grabbed her hair and forced her head toward his pelvic region after she touched his arm trying to settle him.
His wife also told officers that Conley had locked himself in the bedroom over the previous weekend, refusing to come out and spend time with family.
The police report indicated that after dropping their children off at school, she locked herself in their bathroom and told him she was planning to leave their marriage. She said Conley then became angry and reportedly began yelling after she took off her wedding ring.
Conley’s arrest affidavit says that during the incident, Conley’s wife attempted to leave the residence but that he refused to let her do so.
The police report indicated that he said she locked herself again in the bathroom and called authorities. She reported Conley then forced his way into the bathroom but quickly fled after realizing she was one the phone with police.
Conley is reported to later have checked himself into Northern Louisiana Medical Center, where he was arrested before being booked into the Lincoln Parish Detention Center.
The City of Grambling placed Conley on leave without pay a week the week following his arrest before he resigned a night later.
