Once more Louisiana is a laughingstock to the world and there’s plenty of blame to go around.
Among those sharing the blame – and the shame – are the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office, led by the governor’s brother, the 21st Judicial District Attorney’s Office, headed up by Scott Perrilloux, and 21st JDC Judge Jeffery Cashe.
Together, they have managed to send a message to the rest of the world, as noted by a Tangi resident:
Women have no rights in Louisiana. None. Zilch. Nada. Zero. Nil. Fuggedaboutit.
And the message has been picked up by the national media as well as the Daily Mail in the United Kingdom. Oh boy, what the Brits must think of Louisiana now.
You see, Judge Cashe somehow saw fit to award custody to a man who is accused of raping and impregnating a girl when she was only 16 and he was 30. To add insult to injury, Cashe ordered the mother, Crysta Abelseth to pay child support for the child, a daughter, now 16.
Abelseth says she met JOHN BARNES at a bar in 2005. A 16-year-old in a bar is bad enough, even by Louisiana’s lax standards, but she says Barnes offered to take her home but instead, took her to his home where he raped her on his living room sofa, a sexual assault that resulted in her pregnancy.
Barnes learned he was a father when the girl was five years old, Abelseth claims, and he began pursuing custody. When DNA tests confirmed the parentage, he was granted 50 percent custody in 2015.
When she learned that had the option to do so, Abelseth filed rape charges against Barnes. Even if the sex had been consensual, which she denies, no one under the age of 17 may legally consent to sexual intercourse under Louisiana law.
She said she had been under the impression that he was required to file charges immediately. She learned after meeting with a trauma counselor that she had 30 years after turning 18 in which to file charges.
She reported the rape to the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office in 2015, the same year Barnes was granted 50 percent custody. Daniel Edwards, brother of Gov. John Bel Edwards, is the parish sheriff. Abelseth says she was told by sheriff’s detectives that her complaint would be followed up on, but it never was.
Edwards now admits that his department FUMBLED THE INVESTIGATION badly. “You would certainly have, at a minimum, a carnal knowledge situation that that should have been realized by the deputy who took the report and it should have been assigned an actual detective at that time,” Edwards told a local cable channel.
No kidding, Sheriff? You think?
“I gave them phone numbers and everything they asked me for,” she said. “No one has contacted me. I’ve made multiple phone calls to the detectives. I’ve sent emails asking for the status of the case. No response. It was never assigned to any detective and nothing was ever investigated.”
Then she revealed the silver bullet that Barnes apparently possessed: close ties with the local justice system.
A check of secretary of state corporate records showed Barnes as the only officer of a company called Gumbeaux Digital Branding, LLC, an internet web construction company and State Ethics Board records revealed that his only foray into politics was through Gumbeaux when he made a $1500 contribution to the campaign of Ernest G. Drake, III, who ran for a 21st JDC judgeship in 2019 but was defeated by Brian Abels.
But one of his clients is said to be the Ponchatoula Police Department.
Oops. Crap! We can’t be investigating our pals in Louisiana. It just doesn’t work that way.
Meanwhile, Judge Cashe ordered Abelseth not to give her daughter a cell phone, which would seem to infringe on the First Amendment rights – except, as I was once told decades ago, juveniles in Louisiana have no rights.
Abelseth, in defiance of the judge’s order, gave her daughter a cell phone, Barnes claimed when he filed for full custody – a claim she denies – and Judge Cashe, in a snit over having his wisdom questioned, granted custody and ordered Abelseth to pay child support – to her alleged rapist.
Enter Perrilloux, who says his office is going to REVIEW the case.
That’s nice, Mr. DA. But where you been these past seven years? Oh, he says his office never received anything on the case. Well, I guess that absolves you of any responsibility.
Because of the age of the daughter, court records in the matter are under seal.
So, there you have it. A DA apparently in the dark about events in his district, a sheriff’s office too damned lazy to investigate the rape of a juvenile by an adult with apparent political connections, and a judge too dense ensure that he didn’t violate any judicial canons by not doing his due diligence in checking for any felony offense that might influence the outcome of the case.
What else would you expect in a place like Tangipahoa Parish in a state like Louisiana?
Louisiana Voice 
Tom,
Thanks for reporting this outrage. In our state, it would appear that anything having to do with the Edwards’ ( and law enforcement ) is unavoidably tainted.
The governor’s involvement in many of the sorted occurrences in Louisiana has always been minimized by his office since his first term ( i.e. Angola scandal, LSP harassment of citizens, the beating deaths of some citizens, and assorted dalliances covered up by political privilege ).
As the governor has had several of his relatives involved in law enforcement for many years, and the governor himself involved in the sheriff’s association and overseeing board appointments even prior to his assent to the Governor’s chair, his brother being involved in chicanery comes as no real surprise. Strangely enough, no media outlets or investigative reporter (to date) has really sunk their journalistic “teeth” into this family legacy of fractured legal instances…so thank you for stepping forward. It did surprise me, as you appear to have your claws out for Republicans ( or even conservatives ), but it is reassuring to realize that your approach to flushing out the “rats” is not limited to one political party.
I look forward to reading more of your coverage of Joh Bel’s brother and his absence from jurisprudence. Perhaps then, you may even have the opportunity to reveal more of Jon Bel Edward’s own distancing of himself from being informed of the unfortunate murder of Ronald Greene…a story which was substantiated by the media…but consistently denied by Jon Bel’s press corps.
You haven’t been paying close attention, Outlaw. I’ve written numerous stories about Sheriff Edwards and Gov. Edwards’ close ties to the Sheriffs’ Association and former State Police Superintendent Mike Edmonson.
Moreover, you obviously have not purchased my book Louisiana’s Rogue Sheriffs: A Culture of Corruption or you would be aware of an entire section on the Tangi Sheriff’s Office, dating back to former Sheriff Frank Edwards, father of the current sheriff and governor.
Get the book.
And yes, I try to give equal time to both parties but seeing as how the Repugs control the legislature and every statewide office but two, it’s easy to see how they would hog the stories about corruption. I mean, just look at the attorney general and our junior US senator. Geez, they alone could dominate this blog with negative stories.
Conceivably (heavy emphasis on this word), I guess she could be as unfit a parent than the goon, but it’s very unlikely, especially since it looks like she has not even been accused of abuse and obviously has never had her parental rights terminated. We don’t know all the particulars, so I’ve been trying to reserve judgment, but it’s hard to imagine how this can be anything other than some really crooked business. For me the most flabbergasting thing is the rape victim being ordered to pay child support to the rapist (pardon me, “alleged rapist”).
There’s got to be some really crooked, I think especially with this judge. If so, I’d like to think it’s in evitable that it will come out come to light.
Even if she were unfit, there is a statutory prohibition that prevents a rapist from gaining custody or visitation rights with the child in this state. Even a Judge can’t get around that, but I suppose we all need to prop our feet up on the coffee table to prevent our shoes from getting soiled in his explanation.
if you think it’s bad in Tangi, skip on over to STP 22nd…these heinous judges need to be kicked off the benches and prosecuted. black robed goons.
What we REALLY need, especially in family court are a system of panels…getting actual social workers, therapists, etc involved with separating families…children’s lives are being destroyed by aggressive divorce/custody attorneys. we need to stop that.
1) this allowing of undocumented allegations needs to stop.
2) prosecute those who commit perjury in order to sway custody decisions.
I just watched the WBRZ interview with Sheriff Edwards. You could sum it up by saying: We screwed up, but she didn’t complain enough to get our attention. His focus during the interview was centered on defending his department, instead of transparency and justice. Anyone want to take bets on how quickly he gets re-elected anyway? Just like Ard here in Livingston.
And she said that she repeatedly called the sheriff’s office to find out about her case!
I know. I’d like to ask the Sheriff how many times should a victim have to contact law enforcement about a felony sex crime?
This whole case makes my heart hurt. It is one of the most egregious examples of judicial incompetence and malpractice I have seen lately. I can’t even imagine the pain for this mother and daughter being perpetrated by the rapist for YEARS!! How could any human with a beating heart pull off this #*&%#, and that includes the sheriff, detective, prosecutor, judge and most of all, the RAPIST! Lock them all up!!!