Admits to having sex with 16-year-old
“Disgusting! This is a proven case of ‘who you are and the pull you have with the system!’” Shannon Pugh Polizzi said of Shelley Dufresne’s plea agreement that avoided jail time and having to register as a sex offender.
Polizzi joined an outpouring of at least 40 people who posted scathing comments about Dufresne’s plea bargain that quickly appeared on the St. Charles Herald-Guide’s website and Facebook shortly after last Thursday’s announcement.On Wednesday, St. Charles Parish District Attorney Joel Chaisson commented on the plea agreement.
“It is unfortunate that out of respect for the privacy of the victim in this case, I am not able to discuss all of the relevant factors which went into crafting this plea agreement or the reasons that the victim’s parents agreed to it,” Chaisson said. “I can say that a felony guilty plea with three years jail time hanging over the head of the defendant (a mother of three small children), and her exposure to further prosecution with even more jail time and sex offender registration in the event of any probation violations, coupled with the significant other conditions set forth in the plea agreement, make this a resolution that is in the best interest of not only the victim but society as well.”
The deal came after Dufresne pled guilty to one felony count of obscenity and admitted she had sex with her then 16-year-old male student. Judge Anne Simon sentenced the former Destrehan High School (DHS) teacher to a deferred three-year jail term with the Louisiana Department of Corrections, three-year probation and a $1,000 fine, according to the St. Charles Parish District Attorney’s Office.
In return, she can’t have any contact with the victim or his family, forfeited her teaching certificate and can’t take a job where she would hold a position of authority over any person under the age of 18.
Dufresne also agreed to 90 days inpatient mental health treatment in lieu of the same amount of time in parish prison that must be completed by Aug. 31. If she violates probation, Dufresne faces the original charge of carnal knowledge of a juvenile (carries up to 10-year jail sentence) and will be registered as a sex offender.
Public blowback focused on Dufresne not having to register as a sex offender.
“I don’t understand why she doesn’t have to register,” said Debbie Collins Theriot.
Dufresne’s father, Emile St. Pierre and senior judge of 29th Judicial District Court, was among three local judges who recused themselves in the case. Simon, a retired judge from New Iberia, was appointed by the Supreme Court to hear the case.
“Total trash judicial system … no justice in St. Charles,” Kyle McNeese wrote. “ … can you say collusion and since this happened in Kenner, what of those charges. This is total B.S. This princess of a judge is getting way with rape of a child.”
But Judge Simon described the agreement as “usual” for first-time offenders in St. Charles Parish, according to media reports.
From its onset last year, the sordid case made national news when Dufresne, 33, was accused of having sex with the student at her Montz residence last fall. By October, she was again arrested along with Rachel Respess, 24, also a former Destrehan High teacher, for allegedly having a threesome with this same student at Respess’ residence in Kenner after a football game on Sept. 12, Dufresne’s birthday.
Arrests followed an investigation by the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office, which reported the student had been “bragging to other students that he was having a sexual relationship with the teachers.” DHS teachers heard the bragging and reported it to the police.
Both face charges of carnal knowledge of a juvenile, indecent behavior with a juvenile and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile in Jefferson Parish. The DA’s office has not yet announced whether the two will be charged.
Those who commented also maintained the outcome of the case would have been different had the sex offenders been men and the victim a girl.
“How different this would have been had it been two men teachers and a 16-year-old girl,” said Tammy Caserta Segura on Facebook.
The victim did tell Kenner Police that he had consensual sex with the teachers, but he was 16 years old at the time and a minor. Even when he turned 17, according to Louisiana state law, sexual encounters between teachers and students up to the age of 21 are illegal.
A 2008 case involving Byron Toups of Des Allemands, also a former DHS band teacher, where he was accused of having sex with a 16-year-old female student, also resulted in a plea deal.
Toups pled guilty to malfeasance in office, intimidation of a witness and simple battery in 2009. He also got a year in prison with credit for time served, six months of home incarceration and five-year probation.
Dufresne also got home incarceration before her plea deal, but asked the restrictions be eased so she could help her husband transport their three young children to school and extracurricular activities. She also requested and received permission to attend Jazzercise classes in LaPlace as part of her mental health treatment five days a week. She could not leave her residence from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m.
But Toni Portera Offner may have the last word on the impact of these sex scandals: “This is a shame. I hope parents are watching their children closer.”
Be the first to comment