LIVINGSTON, La. (LOCAL 33) (FOX 44) Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard held a press conference Wednesday morning to address one of his former Lieutenant Deputies accused of more than 60 counts of child pornography and rape.
“Everybody that works for me usually is a friend and are usually considered an LPSO family member but he has betrayed us, he has comitted a criminal act,” Ard said.
Ard said his department knew nothing about Perkins alleged crimes against children, and would have loved to have put Perkins in jail had he known.
Ard also discussed the 2014 allegations against Perkins regarding an inappropriate interaction with a juvenile girl. Ard said he held a “verbal interview” with the complainant but nothing was documented.
“If you didnt’ write it down, it didn’t happen,” Ard said.
Ard said there is no record of anything being reported or the discussion that was held, as the alleged victim did not want to investigate it any further. Ard said he looked into it anyway through his “verbal investigation.”
“There was nothing criminal, there was no criminal investigation done, there were no criminal charges,” Ard said.
Ard said a restraining order was filed agains Perkins in 2011 but it was missed when served to his department.
“The document came through, but we weren’t aware of it,” Ard said.
Ard said the document is now sealed off due to the impending investigation.
“This is a monstrous act,” said Ard.
“My heart goes out to them, I’m a father, I can’t even begin to imagine what they are going through. It’s my job to do everything I can to assist the Attorney General’s Office to make sure Dennis Perkins and his wife get everything they’ve got coming for them,” said Ard.
