LIVINGSTON – Dennis Perkins, the former Livingston sheriff’s deputy at the center of a shocking child sex investigation that’s gripped the parish, would prefer a plea deal to avoid a trial, his attorney said.

Perkins and his wife, Cynthia, appeared in court Friday via Zoom.
Dennis Perkins’ attorney, Jarrett Ambeau, said a plea deal would be discussed as opposed to a trial.

"No one wants to participate in a trial where there's going to be this kind of evidence shown whether or not it's related to my client," Ambeau said. "Everyone wants to avoid that."

The couple was arrested in 2019 on charges of rape and child pornography among multiple others. Ambeau says these heinous crimes can make the jury selection process difficult.

"I've tried child pornography cases in the past and it's incredibly difficult to seat a jury because so many people will tell you flat out, 'I will not look at that evidence,'" Ambeau said.

The Louisiana Attorney General's Office is prosecuting the case and stated no plea has officially been requested or offered at this time.

The Perkins are scheduled to go to trial next month and Ambeau has asked that the trial be heard separately. A judge will make a decision later.

"If you have someone who says, 'I'm not going to look at the evidence,' then that person can't sit on the jury," Ambeau said. "In that case, it's incredibly difficult because you have so many people who say to you, 'I'm not going to look.''

A third person implicated in the wide-ranging investigation appeared in court earlier this week. Melanie Curtin's trial was scheduled to start Tuesday (June 1) but was delayed due to the new evidence "recently discovered," prosecutors said. The Attorney General's office is prosecuting the case and did not elaborate on the new evidence.