Louisiana judge convicted of sex crimes against underage girls

A Louisiana judge has been convicted of several sex crimes involving three underage girls, including one who had been best friends with one of his daughters, according to a report.

A jury found St. John Parish Judge Jeff Perilloux, 53, guilty Saturday of three felony counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile, NOLA.com reported. Ad hoc Judge Dennis Waldron also found him guilty of a fourth count of misdemeanor sexual battery.

Two of the three felony charges stemmed from Perilloux’s actions against a 15-year-old girl who had been one of his daughters’ best friends, according to the news outlet.

She testified that the pervy jurist committed the crimes during two back massages, in May and June 2017. During one, he reached over and held a hand over her breast for about 20 seconds, she testified.

A 14-year-old girl told investigators that in June 2017, Perilloux rubbed sunscreen all over her body against her wishes after she had told him repeatedly that she could do it herself.

The girl told police that he had grabbed her shorts while he held a running water hose that he tried shoving down her shorts — though she testified that she couldn’t remember whether he’d actually touched her shorts.

The sexual battery conviction stems from the testimony of a woman who said she was 17 when Perilloux, standing in his underwear with no shirt in his kitchen, applied Vick’s VapoRub across her breasts after she had applied it to her throat, according to NOLA.com.

Defense attorney Jim Williams, who attacked the credibility of the victims, said a conviction would require Perilloux to register as a sex offender.

“It will destroy his life. It will destroy his family. It will destroy his career,” he said.

Williams also said prosecutors declined to cross-examine Perilloux’s two daughters, telling the six jurors that the state couldn’t deny that their testimony contradicted that of the victims.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew Derbes accused Williams of blaming the victims, saying the judge’s daughters were just defending their father.

“These are kids who love their dad, worship their dad. Shame on him for dragging his kids into this. They’ve suffered enough,” Derbes said.

“Yes, he’s a judge. Yes, he’s got a fancy job. He is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, hiding in plain sight before you,” he added. “The truth is that this is a groomer.”

Perilloux, who was found guilty in the same courtroom where he was sworn in, is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 15.

Waldron denied a prosecution request to attach a GPS anklet to the judge, who has been suspended from the bench for over two years.