Dennis Perkins, wife plead not guilty to 150 felony counts of various child sex abuse charges

LIVINGSTON PARISH, La. (WAFB) - A former high-ranking Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy and his wife have both entered pleas of not guilty during their arraignments in court Dec. 19.

A grand jury indicted Dennis Perkins, 44, on 78 felonies and his wife Cynthia Perkins, 34, on 72 felonies on Dec. 17.

Dennis is a former Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy and Cynthia is a former teacher at Westside Junior High School in Walker. Both are accused of child rape, producing child pornography, and participating in feeding desserts laced with semen to school children. Dennis is also accused of sexual abuse of an animal.

The Perkins’ not guilty pleas were entered the same day Cynthia filed for divorce from Dennis. According to court documents, the two were married in Las Vegas on December 7, 2018.

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Despite the fact that both are currently in separate prisons, Cynthia has also filed for a restraining order against her husband. In the filed paperwork, Cynthia says Dennis “has made sufficient threats that render her fearful of the defendant.”

The Louisiana Attorney General’s Office says its case against the two is still ongoing and the office is dealing with “a mountain of evidence.”

David Bourland, the attorney initially representing Dennis, decided to step down from the case and stop representing Perkins Dec. 18. In his motion to be released as counsel of record, Bourland said he and Perkins “are not able to work together towards a mutually agreeable defense.” Bourland said he did not believe he could “move forward in a cooperative and effective assistance to the defense of this matter as constitutionally assured.”

On Dec. 18, Baton Rouge attorney, Jarrett Ambeau, announced he would be representing Dennis.

Ambeau and Cynthia’s attorney James Spokes spoke to the media outside of the Livingston Parish Courthouse on Dec. 19.

“I know that there is a feeling in the community that my client is some kind of monster. He’s a human being, and he remains a human being and we don’t believe in torturing people. We don’t believe in pre-trial punishment. In the sense that unless and until he is proven guilty, he is innocent and I know that that is a difficult thing to comprehend but he doesn’t deserve to be punished prior to being found guilty and having him in a cell 24 hours a day where he does not have the freedom to shower, to brush his teeth, to make a phone call, to go outside, it’s just not OK,” Ambeau said.

“She has a very different version, a different story that she is going to tell, but again, I am not prepared to do that at this time. I do not think it is the appropriate time but we do look forward to having an opportunity to do that in the future,” Spokes said.

The next court date for Dennis and Cynthia Perkins is March 6, 2020.

RELATED: Parent sues former high-ranking deputy, wife, and Livingston Parish School Board over contaminated cupcakes

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