In a “horrific” case, a couple was accused of an array of disturbing child sex crimes, leaving parents deeply disturbed. The wife — a trusted teacher — served her class pastries, knowing her husband had ejaculated on them, but that’s not the worst of it.
Cynthia and Dennis Perkins, an estranged Louisiana couple, stand accused of an array of disturbing sex crimes involving children, according to WBRZ. Their alleged crimes also included video voyeurism and mingling harmful substances, which involves putting harmful substances in food, drink, or medicine with intent to hurt someone. Making matters worse, they were both trusted members of their community.
Dennis Perkins was a Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Deputy, and his wife Cynthia was a West Junior High School teacher. So, it shocked the public when Dennis Perkins was arrested on suspicion of more than 60 counts of producing child pornography, two counts of rape, and additional counts of video voyeurism and obscenity — crimes he allegedly committed with his wife. Their list of crimes quickly grew during the course of the investigation.
Because Dennis Perkins allegedly carried out the crimes with his wife Cynthia, a former school teacher, the case caused widespread concern among Livingston Parish as residents, who speculated whether the alleged acts involved local children and infiltrated the school system, The Advocate reported. Sadly, it seems they had reason to worry.
According to prosecutors, Cynthia served pastries to her English language arts class, knowing Dennis had ejaculated on them. A parent spoke with WBRZ after learning her child ate the tainted food on two occasions. “This is so disgusting and sick,” the mother said. “My child was an innocent victim in their cruel, sick games they played. The hurt from this is beyond imaginable.”
Cynthia and Dennis Perkins were also accused of rape, producing child pornography, and sexually abusing animals, KLFY reported. Unanimously agreeing to add to the original slew of counts the two already faced when they were first arrested, a grand jury indicted the former Livingston Parish sheriff’s deputy and his teacher wife on a total of 150 counts, according to another article from The Advocate.
The counts include first-degree rape, attempted rape, sexually battery of a child under 13, video voyeurism, mingling harmful substances, obscenity, possession of child pornography, producing child pornography, and sexually abusing an animal.
Due to the sensitive nature of the investigation and the need to protect the victims, the Attorney General’s Office, prosecuting the case, has been tight-lipped. Although not many details were released, the 44-page indictment lists four total victims and alleged crimes spanning five years. It also points to more alleged acts than the initial arresting counts seemed to indicate.
“It’s horrific,” Assistant Attorney General Matt Derbes said of the case. “The allegations are horrific. We’re not going to get into great detail. Our concern from Day 1 is to protect the privacy of these victims and respect what they’re going through and to not give any details that could potentially divulge the identity of these victims.”
The two face “multiple life sentences” and up to 6,000 years in prison, according to Livingston Parish News. In addition to the other charges, Dennis was hit with one count of sexually abusing an animal, which Attorney Derbes referred to as sexual abuse of a dog. Cynthia Perkins does not face that charge, another report by The Advocate revealed.
A third potential perpetrator, who also worked at the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office, was also identified in the Perkins case. Melanie B. Curtin, 41, is accused of helping Dennis and Cynthia Perkins carry out some of their alleged sex crimes against children. She not only worked at the sheriff’s office briefly in 2011, but her ex-husband was also a former sheriff’s deputy. She was charged with first-degree rape and video voyeurism.
Forty-four-year-old Dennis Perkins, who had been with the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Department since 2002, had worked his way up to a position as the head of the SWAT team. He was terminated following his arrest after Sheriff Jason Ard said he had personally seen enough evidence to terminate Perkins, even though the accused had not yet been convicted.
Cynthia Perkins, 34, began teaching at Westside Junior High School in 2016 and had taught at North Live Oak Elementary and Live Oak Middle School since 2012. She was also a substitute with the Livingston Parish School District dating back to 2009. She resigned the day of her arrest. In addition to losing their jobs, Cynthia and Dennis Perkins filed for divorce shortly after their arrest.
Shockingly, this wasn’t Dennis Perkins’ first run-in with the law. He was accused of stalking a woman in 2011 and sexually grooming a young girl in 2013 — years before he was arrested. The 2013 grooming allegation involved a young girl who went to a sleepover at Dennis Perkins’ home, where Dennis got into bed with her:
State Police documents indicate Perkins’ wife at the time — who was not Cynthia Perkins — awoke to find her husband in bed with the young girl, watching a movie. His wife called the young girl’s mother to tell her. The man who at the time was the girl’s stepfather and who ultimately was one of two people who reported the incident to authorities said he and his wife, out of caution, sent the girl to counseling and never allowed her back to the Perkins residence.
According to the child’s counselor, Dennis had engaged in grooming behavior, and he believed Perkins had done this before and would do it again. Sadly, investigators determined a crime did not occur since it’s not against the law to watch a movie in bed with a child, even though many child sexual abuse cases begin with this type of behavior, which then intensifies into more sexual behavior until a child is abused, according to experts.
Of course, “grooming” is difficult to address legally because many of the actions involved are not blatantly nefarious. It’s the intent behind them, not the acts themselves, that are criminal. Since these acts are often performed innocently by many people without ill intent, grooming or enticement laws are often applied retroactively because there is no real framework to stop it in its infancy.
That’s why the best defense to protect a child from becoming a victim is for parents to stay active in their child’s life and their online presence, as well as cultivating an environment where the child feels safe telling the parent anything that may make them uncomfortable. As Dennis Perkins and his wife Cynthia have seemingly proven, there are monsters among us. It’s our job to be vigilant so these predators can be stopped before they claim their victims.
