LIVINGSTON, La - The retrial of Melanie Curtin on charges of first-degree rape and video voyeurism has been scheduled for November 17, 2025, in Livingston Parish, with a Motion in Limine hearing set for September 29. A Motion in Limine is a pre-trial request asking the judge to exclude certain evidence from being presented to the jury.
The trial date represents a continuance from the original August 4, 2025 date, which was granted by the judge, according to the office of Livingston Parish Clerk of Court Jason Harris. Judge Brian Abels will preside over the case.
Curtin was arrested during the high-profile investigation into former Livingston Parish sheriff's deputy Dennis Perkins and his wife, Cynthia Perkins. Curtin was accused of helping Perkins allegedly sexually assault and record an unconscious woman in 2014.
In 2021, Curtin was found guilty of rape and voyeurism and sentenced to life in prison. However, her conviction was overturned in 2023 when the First Circuit Court of Appeal ruled that certain evidence blocked during the original trial could have helped her defense.
The appellate court determined that excluded evidence included documentation of the alleged victim pretending to be asleep during other alleged sexual encounters with Perkins and a video of the alleged victim having oral sex with Perkins while another woman watched, according to court documents.
The First Circuit also ruled that the jury should not have been shown videos of Curtin and Perkins engaging in consensual oral sex in a dressing room, which was unrelated to the rape allegation. The court said this evidence potentially unfairly prejudiced the jury against her.
Curtin is currently out on bond and is allowed to live out of state while awaiting her retrial.
Dennis Perkins is currently serving a 100-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to numerous sex crimes, many involving himself and his former school teacher wife, Cynthia. Cynthia Perkins is serving a 41-year prison sentence.
The Louisiana Attorney General's Office is prosecuting the case.
