Warning: this article mentions child abuse and rape which some readers may find distressing.
A serial paedophile in the US has agreed to undergo surgical castration after being caught attempting to sexually assault a seven-year-old child.
On Monday (August 18), Thomas Allen McCartney pleaded guilty in a Louisiana court to charges of first-degree attempted rape of a child under the age of 13 back in 2023 (according to PEOPLE).
According to a 2023 report from KPLCTV, he was caught 'engaging in sexual contact' with the child before fleeing from the scene.
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McCartney was already known to the police after committing a string of other sex offences over the years and is registered as a tier 3 sex offender in the US state.
This means he is considered to be at high risk of re-offending.
In 2006, he was charged with felony carnal knowledge of a minor as well as two counts of aggravated rape towards a 12-year-old in 2010. He was later arrested for attempted aggravated rape in 2011.
Alongside castration, McCartney has also received a sentence of 40 years behind bars.
"This is a horrific crime that never should have happened," Vernon Parish District Attorney Terry Lambright told PEOPLE in a statement.
"Thomas McCartney is a predator that needs to be locked away from others in our community."
What is surgical and chemical castration – and where is it legal?
According to Healthline, chemical castration involves a person taking medication to lower their testosterone levels, meanwhile surgical castration in men is the permanent removal of testicles to stop the production of sex hormones.
Both procedures have the same end goal of lowering a person's sex drive.
Chemical castration is currently used as a punishment for sex offenders states such as California, Iowa, Louisiana, Oregon and Texas. The procedure is currently being piloted in selected UK prisons (via BBC).
However, surgical castration is more invasive and controversial. Unlike with medication, surgical castration is not reversible.
As of 2025, Louisiana is the only state in the US which allows surgical castration to be carried out, after approving the law in August last year. According to CBS, the procedure cannot be carried out more than a week before an inmates' custodial sentence ends.
Other nations who allow this method of punishment include Czechia, Madagascar and a state in Nigeria.
The first man to be sentenced to surgical castration in the state was 54-year-old Glenn Sullivan Sr, who'd been charged with four counts of second-degree rape last April.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivors Trust for free on 08088 010 818, available 10am-12.30pm, 1.30pm-3pm and 6pm-8pm Monday to Thursday, 10am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-3pm on Fridays, 10am-12.30pm on Saturdays and 6pm-8pm on Sundays.
Brenna Cooper