(The Livingston Parish News) – She was arrested immediately after disembarking from a cruise ship in late January, under suspicion of being a participant in an ongoing investigation into a child pornography case.
While neither of the two charges for which Melanie Curtin was indicted Tuesday involved child pornography, one did involve Dennis Perkins who remains at the center of the child pornography case alongside his wife, Cynthia.
Curtin was indicted on one count of aggravated rape of an adult, with Dennis Perkins being described specifically as “providing assistance,” as well as a second count of video voyeurism of an adult victim, without their consent.
Both charges were cited as occurring on Nov. 8, 2014.
When a person is indicted, he or she is given formal notice that it is believed that he committed a crime. The grand jury listens to the prosecutor and witnesses, and then votes in secret on whether they believe that enough evidence exists to charge the person with a crime.
Curtin, 41, of Denham Springs, was taken into custody late in January for her alleged involvement with Dennis and Cynthia Perkins, the couple at the center of an investigation of crimes against children.
After being transported to the Livingston Parish Detention Center, Curtin was charged with one count of first degree rape and one count of video voyeurism, and Judge Jeffrey Johnson set her bond at $350,000. Curtin was indicted on both counts.
According to the Attorney General’s office, Johnson also added GPS monitoring as a condition of bail should Curtin make bond.
Curtin making bond Feb. 6 was the latest in an investigation that has swept Livingston Parish since October, when Dennis Perkins, a former high-ranking Livingston Parish Sheriff’s lieutenant, and Cynthia Perkins, a former middle school teacher, were arrested following a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, according to Attorney General Jeff Landry.
After their arrests, a grand jury indicted Dennis and Cynthia Perkins on a total of 150 counts, including producing and possession of child pornography, rape, obscenity, video voyeurism, attempted rape, sexual battery of a child under 13 years old, mingling of harmful substances, and sexually abusing an animal.
The grand jury’s report listed four total victims — Juvenile Victim 1, Juvenile Victim 2, Adult Victim 1, Adult Victim 2 — in its findings, with the alleged crimes going back as far as November 2014 through July 2019.
Dennis and Cynthia Perkins, who have both entered pleas of “not guilty,” could face multiple life sentences and up to 6,000 years in prison. The two are scheduled to appear in court on March 6.
District Attorney Scott Perrilloux formally recused his office from proceedings against Dennis and Cynthia Perkins shortly after their arrests. On Monday, he recused his office from proceedings against Curtin, as well.
Landry, whose office is leading the investigation, encouraged anyone with information regarding the investigation to contact the LBI toll-free at 1-800-256-4506. Callers may remain anonymous.
The investigation is ongoing, he said.
“As noted multiple times before: this matter is a very serious, ongoing investigation; and we will not make any comments that may jeopardize a successful prosecution of the crimes,” Landry said in a press release.
