The judge who, for nearly three years, has presided over criminal proceedings for the driver in the Madison Brooks rape case has been recused by another judge on the 19th Judicial District bench.

In his order Monday, District Judge Brad Myers cited a number of text messages defendant Casen John Carver wrote about District Judge Gail Horne Ray, where he suggested she and his family were friends and indicated “she knows to help us.”

Prosecutors from East Baton Rouge Parish's District Attorney’s office moved to have Ray removed from Carver’s case in September after he opted for a bench trial, meaning the judge would decide his guilt or innocence from the bench instead of a jury.

Myers listened to arguments from prosecutors and Carver’s attorneys during a hearing on Wednesday afternoon.

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