Shelley St.Pierre Dufresne & Rachel Alyse Respess, Destrehan, Louisiana (suspended Sept 2014)

Not that it matters, everyone knows who the kid is

 

I'm wondering if there is any chance at all of getting a fair prosecution of Dufresne? Whatever the final verdict and punishment turns out to be for Defresne, does anyone really think it will have been the same if she wasn't District Judge Emile St. Pierre's daughter?

So great, all three judges for the 29th judicial district recused themselves. But what about the prosecutor's working relationship with Judge St. Pierre? Assuming that prosecutor will have to try other cases in front of that judge in the future, shouldn't we also have concerns about that relationship affecting how this thing unfolds. I mean, how aggressive do we expect the prosecutor to be in going after Dufresne when he knows he'll have to try cases in front of her father in the future? In my opinion, absolutely no one involved in the administration of justice to Dufresne (including those investigating the crime) should have any relationship at all with Judge St. Pierre.

As her father, it's understandable that he will do anything he can to protect his daughter. But in most cases, the perp's father isn't in a position of influence that will impact how the case is prosecuted or what the sentence will be if it goes to trial or is plea bargained. I'm not suggesting at all that Judge Pierre would intentionally try to pressure anyone to circumvent judgment, but his position and the power behind it can be influential to this case even without his doing or saying anything at all. But of course, we know the guy isn't sitting back and doing nothing. Does anyone really think he isn't managing her defense behind the scenes? I would expect nothing different, but the question becomes....how far does that go? So fine, as a judge he knows how she should best position herself for leniency and can counsel her accordingly. He knew to send her to a mental health facility before doing anything else (get that temporary insanity defense started). He knew to ensure she severed all ties with her co-conspirator and the kid she was sexually abusing (the people she will likely try to throw under the bus as she defends herself). He ensured she said nothing, nothing at all when she turned herself in to police. He has the knowledge, means and resources to get the country's best sexual assault defender, and I've read scuttlebutt that he's done just that. None of this is wrong, per se, but compare it to the help Respess will be receiving with her public defender. The question is, does it stop there?....who involved in the adjudication of this case does the Judge have a personal relationship with...if he thinks he can influence things in his daughters favor via his connections, does anyone expect him not to try to do so?

If everything that has been reported so far is true, leniency for being a first time offender should be a minimal at best for Defresne. Not only was there multiple encounters with the kid, she conspired and enlisted another to sexually abuse this kid as well. No doubt alcohol was involved when the crime took place, but was it involved during the planning? Was Dufresne already drunk when she picked up the kid to take him to Respess's place for the singular purpose of sexually abusing him? I feel for Respess, but in the end she is responsible for the decisions she made regardless of how much Dufresne was encouraging her. But clearly Dufresne was the ring leader, fully aware of the wrongness of what she was doing...and yet she continued until we were all brought to....here.

This person deserves no leniency....and no one involved in this case should have any relationship at all with this judge.

 

Relax dude....

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But there's no reason to even be upset about the verdict at all. It's all a formality at this point. Her career and reputation are completely ruined already and at the bear minimum she will have to register as a sex offender for 15 years. Rest assured, she will be seen as whore for a very very long time. Same with Respess but it's a bit worse for her because she's much younger and doesn't have a plan B. Her parents are rich but she's single and needs to do a complete career change...yeah good luck with that with the sex offender tag hanging over your head. Their lives are ruined, period. And all for a couple hours of sex.

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[All paragraphs with profanities were deleted by a moderator.]

 

I would suggest that those who are posting here review our Terms of Service and take them to heart, especially:

... our language of discussion is polite English. Profanity and vulgarity have no place here.

...

Although the subject matter might require some "delicate" handing, this site is intended to be both work-safe and family-safe.​

Unlike the Tiger Droppings forum, I don't delete threads because I'm too lazy to moderate them. I do remove users who do not comply with our posting guidelines.

 

You get nothing. This isn't about jealousy, it's about justice being served. Your suggestion that the humiliation and stigma associated with their acts having become public knowledge should satisfy our desire for justice is extremely shallow minded. You seem to support women being treated differently than men when committing similar sex crimes. I suppose it's because the victim was male and enjoyed, perhaps even sought out the activity. Well here is a news flash for you....most female students who engaged in sex with male teachers also enjoyed and often sought out the activity. So should male offenders also be left to walk free with no punishment other than the cloud of shame hanging over them, and the public should be satisfied with that as well?

I'm sorry that your fantasy driven envy of the victim and your male/female stereotypes clouds your ability to see the big picture clearly. I hope one day you find the wisdom to understand a teenager's enjoyment of being sexually abused doesn't make it OK, nor does it excuse or minimize the culpability of the adult(s) who committed that abuse. BTW - Moving on to have "a ton of sex" may seem like a good thing to you, but it's also a sign of aberrant behavior resulting from emotional trauma.

When you find the ability to see beyond your sexual envy of this teenager perhaps we can move onto more substantive discussion of the mental and emotional health issues that often result from inappropriate sexual activity that takes place before a teenager is socially/emotionally mature enough to deal with it as would a responsible, respectful and considerate adult.

 

As a person who is interested in the related litigation regarding this case, prosecuted by District Attorney Joel Chaisson, does anybody know where one may access court documents relevant to this case?

Thanks.

 

Public access to court documents varies from state to state and from county (parish) to county (parish). Try Google searches for keywords such as:

• St. Charles Parish courts docket search
• Washington Parish courts docket search
• Louisiana courts docket search

When docket access is available, it is free in most states. A few states (and the federal courts) charge for access.

And speaking of the courts, in the civil arena this case would be an easy six-figure settlement if the juvenile braggart were to realize how he's been used and injured.

 

St. Charles Parish charges $50.00 monthly for internet access to court records:

https://records.stcharlesparish-la.gov/User/Login.aspx?ReturnUrl=/Index.aspx​

Washington Parish (once you patch their badly coded link) charges $100.00 monthly for internet access to court records:

https://search.wpclerk.org/External/User/Login.aspx?ReturnUrl=/external/Index.aspx​

Do you guys have a bit of a problem there with public transparency & accountability?

• Newsweek: Is Louisiana the Most Corrupt State?
• Times-Picayune: Louisiana's rate of public corruption convictions highest in nation, report says
• Times-Picayune: Under Bobby Jindal, Louisiana's culture of corruption hasn't changed: Robert Mann

I don't want to go off on a corruption tangent, but charging $100 a month for online access to court records in a single parish really underscores a lack of transparency and facilitates a culture of corruption.

 

Give me a break. This kid is probably more emotionally and sexually mature than you are

 

The arraignment hearing for Shelley Dufresne, originally scheduled for 10/23, has now been moved back over 1 month to 11/25. The wheels of justice will turn VERY slowly down in the bayou when daddy is a Parish judge!!!!!

http://www.bayoubuzz.com/louisiana-...raignment-in-teacher-sex-case-moved-to-nov-25

 

I know, it's such garbage

just lynch these [removed by moderator] already

 

@Chicago Tom

Agreed. Albeit, this is a huge news story with a lot of visibility. I'm sure that also affects the speed of how things play out. Not everything should necessarily be attributed to daddy's influence. But yeah, even though he is not involved in the court proceedings or police investigations, his shadow in the room is hard to ignore for those that are involved. One would have to be a fool to think Dufresne won't benefit from it, and thereby Respess as well. But who knows.....if Dufresne's defense team gets her off with temporary insanity, it could be a very real possibility that Dufresne is sentenced to something like home detention (to continue her "intensive mental therapy") while Respess ends up doing the jail time. What a travesty of justice that would be!

Still wondering about Dufresne's husbands role in all this. No announcement that he's leaving her, no announcement that he's standing by her side. Given the nation wide visibility of this case, one would think they would address the issue in some way. A loyal supportive husband standing by his emotionally/mentally troubled wife would play well for the defense. Announcing that he is leaving his cheating wife would play well towards preserving any sense of dignity for the guy on a national stage. I find his silence is somewhat odd. I'm still betting there is more history to the Dufresne/Respess team than what has been revealed so far. And I suspect that hubby wasn't ignorant about it, and more likely benefitted from it in some way.

I just have a hard time believing that if Respess and Dufresne (two high school teachers) were open to having group sex together, that they would choose an under aged, career ending, secret blabbing student as their first playmate. This wasn't likely these girl's first foray into sex play together. Think about it...Assume for a moment that they had a history of doing this kinda thing with others.....it explains why Respess might have been willing to let Dufresne bring the kid to her apartment for sex, while at the same time claiming she wasn't intending to participate. Once she was aware Dufresne had already had several prior sexual encounters with the kid, perhaps Respess was "partners in crime" enough with Dufresne to see no harm in allowing the use of her place for what amounted to Respess as nothing more than Dufresne's next encounter with this adult looking kid. It would still have been a stupid decision, but perhaps Respess really did have no intention to participate beyond aiding and abetting. But perhaps once Dufresne and the kid started putting on a show for her, sexual desire trumped common sense and she hopped into the fray. All totally supposition...but at least it makes Respess's claim that there was no preconceived plan for a threesome (on her part anyways) at least plausible.

 

The delay is hardly a surprise, and your reaction implies that you're not familiar with our justice system. That's a good thing for you. So you know, defendants are often advised by their counsel to slow things down, and they often do so. It's their right to make such moves, and it's usually in their best interest. It's part of due process. This kind of 'delay', if you want to call it that, has little to nothing to do with a defendants familial line and their family's positions in the community.

I'm certain her father will play a role in this and is likely to have already done so (bond, mental evaluation advice, etc.); most fathers would get involved with their daughters case. But delayed arraignments and other court events--like pleading not guilty when everyone knows you're guilty--are par for the course in all kinds of criminal cases.

So, at this point, there's no reason to be a drama queen over an arraignment being rescheduled. And it remains to be seen if her father's role in the community will bring some abnormal conclusion to this saga. I certainly hope not, but can't rule it out. But, in all honesty, there are a bazillion women that ultimately get the [removed by moderator] resulting in a slap on the wrist for these kinds of crimes. So if Dufresne ends up in the same boat: is it a [removed by moderator] or her father's influence? Time will tell, and we may never really know.

Finally, don't be surprised when these two plead not guilty at their arraignments. That's normal.