Convicted rapist sentenced to three consecutive life sentences

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - Choy Van Leo was sentenced Thursday to three consecutive life terms for raping children in the 1990s.

Van Leo, now 61, went on the run for nearly 20 years after authorities began investigating him in 2000.

Calcasieu authorities say he either raped or molested seven children, between the ages of 4 and 12 years old, from 1992 until 2000.

Van Leo was eventually located in Spirit Lake, Iowa, on May 24, 2024.

While each aggravated rape charge carried a mandatory life sentence, Judge Bobby Holmes ordered they be served consecutively. He also handed down four 15-year sentences on four molestation of a juvenile charges, also to run consecutively to each other and the life sentences.