‘Oh God’: Interrogation tapes reveal Dennis Perkins stunned by 2019 arrest

Editor’s note: This article contains graphic content and includes audio of the actual interrogations of Dennis and Cynthia Perkins. Some of the audio was redacted by the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office prior to release to protect the identity of the victims.

LIVINGSTON PARISH, La. (WAFB) - Newly released audio recordings tell the chilling story of what happened as investigators arrested high-ranking Livingston Parish sheriff’s deputy Dennis Perkins on charges that included rape, child pornography and video voyeurism in 2019.

Perkins, who quickly threw his cell phone into the water after spotting police, acted shocked when he was told of the evidence against him. “Child pornography?” Perkins is heard asking. “Yes sir, images of children,” an investigator with the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office is heard responding on the 26-minute recorded interrogation tape.

At the same time Perkins was being questioned near a fishing camp in Toledo Bend, investigators were also grilling his school teacher wife, Cynthia, four hours away inside the couple’s Denham Springs home.

Investigators told her they found two hidden cameras inside the house, including one tucked inside the soap dispenser in the couple’s guest shower. The other camera, hidden in an artificial plant in their bedroom, contained a transmitter, she was told. “So, he was sending those images somewhere,” the investigators are heard telling Cynthia during her 92-minute interrogation.

Investigators also told her they wanted to know about a video of her husband sitting in his car, ejaculating onto a tray of small cakes called petit fours. And, about a photograph that appeared to show one of Cynthia’s young students later consuming one of the cakes.

“I’m scared,” the seventh grade teacher told the detectives, as she avoided many of their questions.

”I can tell by your reaction you know exactly what I’m talking about,” an investigator from the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office is heard telling Cynthia on the recorded interrogation. “This isn’t gonna be something you’re gonna be able to live with kept inside for a long time. It’s going to eat you alive.”

As Cynthia continued to dodge questions, she was asked why she was trying to protect someone who is “abusing and exploiting children.”

“Is that what you want to look like?” an investigator asked her. “Do you want your picture next to his picture on the news saying this is his co-conspirator to exploit your children?”

As authorities in Toledo Bend continued questioning her husband, he was told about the tip from the Center for Missing and Exploited Children that cracked this case open. He continues to act like he’s surprised by it all. “I’m just trying to wrap my head around this,” Dennis Perkins is heard saying.

Dennis Perkins is also asked about the possibly tainted pastries. “There were some images where you were masturbating onto some pastries of some kind and then, very shortly after, kids were eating those pastries,” the investigator tells him. “Oh God,” Perkins says. He eventually tells the investigator that “Nobody ate pastries that I ejaculated on,” the recording reveals.

He is also asked why he ditched his cell phone. He told investigators it was because the phone contained nude pictures of his wife that he did not want them to see, the recordings reveal.

After disclosing very little, he told investigators he would prefer to speak to a lawyer before going any further.

“I’m just worried about my wife and my kids, man,” he is heard saying.

He was informed that a warrant had been issued for his arrest and that he has already been fired from the Livington Parish Sheriff’s Office.

In the months that followed, the examination of multiple electronic devices would uncover a mountain of additional evidence against the couple.

The evidence included a video of Dennis Perkins and another woman raping an unconscious female. And, videos of Perkins having sex along the roadside with female suspects he had just arrested. Prosecutors said in court they believe he blackmailed the women into having sex with him under threats that he could make life difficult for them if they refused.

The recorded interrogations of the couple have become public record now that the cases against them have been adjudicated. Portions of the recordings were redacted prior to their release since they contained identifying information about some of the victims.

Earlier this year, Dennis Perkins pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 100 years in prison. His wife also pleaded guilty and got a 41-year sentence.

RELATED: Former deputy Dennis Perkins pleads guilty in high-profile case

Click here to report a typo.

Copyright 2023 WAFB. All rights reserved.