Photo courtesy of Tiger Rag and Jonathan Malines
Gambling charges against former LSU player Kayshon Boutte have been dropped. He was arrested in January for illegal online gaming. The East Baton Rouge Parish DA’s office said Boutte has completed a gambling awareness program and executed a self-ban. Legal Analyst Tim Meche said it’s a classic case of prosecutorial discretion because no one was harmed.
“A prosecutor exercises judgment not to expend his resources because everything that needs to be addressed has already been addressed. And it makes no sense to prosecute and punish someone when they’ve already taken steps to address the matter,” said Meche.
Meche believes the investigation of Boutte’s case will be a lesson learned for LSU and the NCAA, as well as how they need to monitor college athletes going forward when it comes to sports wagering.
“And their activities in this arena better than they did with Mr. Boutte. And I think that’s the beneficiary of this, hopefully after all this is said and done,” said Meche.
In a press release from the EBR DA’s office announcing the charges were dropped it said Boutte did not bet against himself or his team. Meche said that’s interesting to note.
“It used to not matter, if you bet in the same sport, according to Major League Baseball, at least in the same game, you’re playing that never was a distinction but now in that press release they’re making it,” said Meche.
The legal gambling age in Louisiana is 21 and Boutte was underage when the bets were placed. He’s currently a wide receiver for the New England Patriots.
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