[StBernard] State Police captain cleared of misconduct in Peralta rape case

[Westley Annis]

State Police captain cleared of misconduct in Peralta rape case
ADVOCATE STAFF REPORT
April 30, 2014

A State Police captain has been cleared of misconduct allegations after the
estranged wife of St. Bernard Parish President David Peralta filed a
complaint over the officer's handling of a probe into allegations that
Peralta brutally raped her in late October.

St. Bernard Parish President David Peralta was booked into the parish jail
Thursday morning, a day after he was indicted on a charge of sexual battery.
St. Bernard Parish President David Peralta was booked into the parish jail
Thursday morning, a day after he was indicted on a charge of sexual battery.
In an April 22 letter, Maj. Catherine Flinchum, head of the Louisiana State
Police's Internal Affairs Division, informed Capt. Kevin Devall that "after
a thorough investigation," he had been exonerated of the complaint. The
probe found that his actions were "lawful and proper or justified under the
existing conductions." The letter was obtained through a public-records
request.

Flinchum also notified Sharon Schaefer Peralta that Devall had been cleared.

Capt. Doug Cain, a State Police spokesman, confirmed last week that Sharon
Peralta had filed a complaint with the agency, but he said he could not
discuss its substance. "Internal Affairs conducted an administrative
investigation," he said. Its role "is to determine if a trooper violates any
policy procedures of the department," he said.

The website Nola.com has reported that Sharon Peralta asserted in her Feb. 5
complaint that Devall, the State Police's investigations commander for
southeast Louisiana, erred by not arresting David Peralta following the rape
allegation.

Sharon Peralta, who is now in divorce proceedings with her husband, accused
David Peralta of handcuffing, beating and raping her Oct. 27 at their Meraux
home. She took her complaint to the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office,
which passed the case along to the Louisiana State Police.

In a March interview, David Peralta denied the rape allegation, saying he
and his wife frequently acted out "rape fantasies" while having sex.

A grand jury in St. Bernard indicted David Peralta last week on a
sexual-battery charge stemming from the incident. The grand jury did not
charge Peralta with rape. He posted $20,000 bond and was released.