LIVINGSTON — It has been more than four years since Melanie Curtin first stood trial on a rape charge. A jury found her guilty in 2021, but the First Circuit Court of Appeal later ruled the trial court had “erred” on several key decisions, overturning the conviction.
That ruling granted Curtin a new trial. The Louisiana Attorney General’s Office, which is prosecuting the case, asked the Louisiana Supreme Court to reinstate the original conviction, but the court declined to take up the appeal.
Jury selection in Curtin’s retrial began Monday, March 10, and continued into Wednesday morning after issues Tuesday led to entire panels of potential jurors being dismissed. Once a 12-person jury and three alternates were seated, opening statements began Wednesday afternoon.
Opening Statements: “We found a lot”
Assistant Attorney General Erica Moore opened the trial with a roughly 15-minute statement outlining what prosecutors say the evidence will show.
Moore told jurors the case traces back to September 2019 when the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children alerted the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation about child pornography that had been uploaded online. Investigators traced the material to former Livingston Parish deputy Dennis Perkins.
While searching Perkins’ home, investigators found multiple hard drives. On one of them, Moore said, they discovered an 18-minute video that became the key piece of evidence in the Curtin case.
“We found a lot, including a video that was deliberate, coordinated and purposeful,” Moore told jurors.
Investigators initially believed the video showed Perkins, his then-wife Cynthia Perkins and an unconscious woman. But Moore said they later learned the woman was not Cynthia Perkins. Instead, prosecutors say the video shows Curtin with Perkins and another woman.
“The victim will testify that until she was contacted by the AG’s Office and shown the video, she had no recollection of that,” Moore said, adding prosecutors will argue Curtin knew the woman was “intoxicated and unable to consent.”
“Representing this facade to the public”
Curtin’s attorney Elizabeth Warner then addressed jurors for about 10 minutes, beginning with: “We are very proud to represent Melanie Curtin.”
Warner told jurors Curtin had nothing to do with the crimes committed by Dennis and Cynthia Perkins.
She said that in 2014 Perkins was a respected deputy who was “representing this facade to the public.”
“It all happened before the general public knew Dennis Perkins was a monster, including my client,” Warner said.
She acknowledged the Perkinses committed horrific crimes but argued Curtin was pulled into a high-profile case tied to them.
Along with the simple rape charge, Curtin is also facing a charge of video voyeurism. Warner told jurors “the video was made for Dennis Perkins, by Dennis Perkins,” adding he began producing adult pornography before later moving to crimes involving children in 2018.
“The evidence will show there is only one bad actor and he was manipulating and grooming both women,” Warner said. “He preyed on vulnerable adult women.”
She said the defense will show “how an innocent person can get railroaded.”
State’s first witness: The tip that started the investigation
Prosecutors called Gene Guidry, a special agent with the Attorney General’s Office, as their first witness.
Guidry testified the investigation began with the tip about child pornography. Warrants for AT&T and Adobe records traced the IP address to Dennis Perkins, leading to his arrest and a search of his home.
Guidry said investigators found evidence of child pornography production and possession on multiple hard drives and external devices. Inside a video-storage application, investigators found folders labeled with women’s names or initials containing photos and videos, most of them sexual in nature.
In one folder, Guidry said, investigators found the 18-minute video tied to Curtin’s charges. Investigators initially believed the woman in the video was Cynthia Perkins but later determined it was Curtin.
He testified the other woman in the video did not appear capable of consenting.
Guidry then described how the investigation ultimately led to Curtin’s arrest.
Prosecutors played the video for the jury. The courtroom was closed to the public and media during that portion of the evidence.
“There were a lot of women”
After about 90 minutes of testimony, Curtin’s attorney began cross-examining Guidry.
Warner asked Guidry when the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation received the initial tip. Guidry testified it was July 2019. Warner then showed him documents in which he wrote the tip was received in September 2019.
Warner also had Guidry confirm investigators found nearly 12,000 files across 17 external devices, not including duplicates.
“There were a lot of women he had interactions with,” Guidry testified.
He said investigators found photos and videos of other women, some with their faces covered, similar to the victim’s face being covered in the 18-minute video.
Warner also questioned Guidry about his 2019 interview with the alleged victim. Prosecutors say the woman had no memory of the incident until investigators showed her the video.
Warner pointed out the woman asked if the video involved Dennis and Cynthia Perkins with her, and Guidry told her yes.
She also noted the woman told Guidry at least twice, “If you don’t need me, I don’t want to be involved,” indicating she did not want to pursue charges.
The defense did not finish cross-examining Guidry before Judge Abels ended court for the day. Trial resumes Thursday.
History of the case
Curtin’s case surfaced during the 2019 arrests of Dennis Perkins and his wife, Cynthia Perkins. However, Curtin was not accused of any crimes involving children or the allegations that bodily fluids were placed in pastries or drinks. Both Dennis and Cynthia Perkins later pleaded guilty, avoiding a trial.
Curtin was arrested in February 2020 after investigators found a video recorded in November 2014 during a search of former Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy Dennis Perkins’ home.
The search uncovered 17 external devices including hard drives and cameras placed throughout the house. On one of the hard drives, investigators found a video showing Curtin, Perkins and another woman engaged in sexual activity. Prosecutors say the woman in the video was unconscious.
Prosecutors argue the woman could not consent and was raped.
Curtin’s attorneys argue Curtin was drugged and that the woman was pretending to be unconscious because that was something Perkins liked.
One key issue in Curtin’s first trial involved the woman’s testimony that she would never consent to what was shown in the video.
Curtin’s attorneys tried to introduce evidence they said suggested otherwise, but Judge Brian Abels ruled that information could not be presented to the jury under Louisiana’s rape shield law, which limits the use of a victim’s sexual history in court.
The First Circuit Court of Appeal later ruled that decision, along with two other evidentiary rulings, prevented Curtin from receiving a fair trial and overturned her convictions.
The appellate court wrote that the rape shield law cannot override a defendant’s constitutional right to present a full defense.
The broader case and Curtin’s connection to it is discussed in depth in the latest episode of UWK’s podcast, Louisiana Unfiltered.
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