Sandy MaloneLivingston, LA – A former Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office employee was sentenced to life in prison on Monday for her role in the sexual assault of a woman at the home of a former sheriff’s lieutenant.
Former Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Lieutenant Dennis Perkins and his wife, Cynthia Perkins, were facing more than 150 charges together including child pornography and rape, WBRZ reported.
Cynthia Perkins was later fired from her job at Westside Junior High and admitted to having fed some of her students pastries that she had laced with her husband’s semen.
Investigators found copious evidence on computer hard drives inside then Lt. Perkins’ home after he and his wife were arrested in 2019 that included videos of crimes being committed.
Included in that evidence was a more than 17-minute video of 42-year-old Melanie Curtin raping a woman on Nov. 8, 2014, WBRZ reported.
The video showed Curtain and Dennis Perkins taking turns raping an unconscious woman who had a blanket over her head.
Prosecutors said Dennis Perkins and Curtin took turns filming the assault with a cell phone, WBRZ reported.
The victim told investigators that she had no knowledge of having been sexually assaulted until after the video was found and she was notified.
“When I saw parts of the video, I wanted to literally die,” the victim testified during Curtin’s trial.
The victim testified that she never would have had sex with Curtin and Dennis Perkins and claimed that the sheriff’s lieutenant had suggested they do a “threesome” and the idea made her “uncomfortable,” WBRZ reported.
Curtin claimed that she had been drugged the night of the incident and had no knowledge of it, WBRZ reported.
She was found guilty of aggravated rape and voyeurism for her role in the 2014 attack on the unconscious woman in December of 2021, the Livingston Parish News reported.
The aggravated rape charge carried a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, probation, or suspension.
Curtin had been out on bond with a GPS ankle monitor but was remanded into custody immediately after the verdict was read, the Livingston Parish News reported.
At her sentencing on March 21, Curtain and her family pleaded for mercy from the judge, WBRZ reported.
She maintained that she had no memory of her actions but apologized for them anyway.
Curtin said she regretted having opted not to testify at her own trial.
In February, Cynthia Perkins pleaded guilty to a slew of charges that included production of child pornography, second-degree rape, and mingling of harmful substances, WBRZ reported.
In exchange, the remaining 68 charges against her were dismissed.
She will be sentenced to 41 years behind bars, WBRZ reported.
Cynthia Perkins has also agreed to testify against her husband, whom she filed for divorce from following their arrests in 2019.
Holly Matkin
