[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish President Dave Peralta's wife files for contempt order, their divorce official

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish President Dave Peralta's wife files for contempt order,
their divorce official

The same day that St. Bernard Parish President Dave Peralta and his wife's
divorce was made official, his now ex-wife, Sharon Schaefer, asked a state
judge to find Peralta in contempt of a restraining order placed against him,
court records show.

Schaefer claimed in court filings Tuesday that Peralta "has continued to
harass and threaten" her and "has disrupted her well being" by sending her
"e-mails from various addresses, using the identity of mover (Schaefer) and
her family members to post comments on NOLA.com, and contacting mover's
family members."

"Mr. Peralta's actions have caused Mover significant distress, fear, and
anxiety," according to Schaefer's court filing.

Peralta declined to comment on the matter, citing a gag order imposed after
he was indicted on April 23 on a charge of sexual battery of Schaefer,
related to her accusation that he raped her Oct. 27. He is scheduled for an
arraignment on that charge later this month. Peralta has said the sex was
consensual and that he didn't rape his wife.

The couple married on March 31, 2012, and they officially separated on Dec.
10, 2013.

On Feb. 7, as a part of their divorce proceeding, Judge Michael Kirby barred
both of them and their agents "from harassing, interfering with, physically
abusing, threatening, or in any other manner endangering the personal
well-being of both parties," "either by telephone, in person, at their
home(s), in writing or through website posting on the internet, text
messaging or other electronic communication devices."

Schaefer's new filing asked that Peralta be found in contempt of that order
and that he be ordered to pay court costs. 

Kirby on Tuesday both declared their divorce official and ordered Peralta to
appear on Aug. 4 to show "why he should not be held in contempt of this
court for violating" that consent judgment.

Schaefer's filing provided many email messages that she said Peralta wrote
to her. She also provided two screenshots of posts on NOLA.com's St. Bernard
forum that she stated were written by Peralta.

One of the email addresses on the messages Schaefer filed in court is an
address Peralta has used to communicate with reporters in the past. From
that address, Schaefer received a June 13 email that stated, in part, "I
will always love you."   

Email messages sent from other addresses, however, cursed Schaefer and
threatened to go to authorities with unspecified claims against her. It was
not evident in those addresses whether they are connected to Peralta. 

A June 24 email message, for example, alluded to Schaefer's new address and
asked how her new apartment was "working out." It also stated that
"information passed on to the press is being sent to david."

An email message on Feb. 5, with the subject-line "Loser," stated that
Peralta would be revealing things in court that day and that Schaefer would
"be so embarrassed you won't even show your face in the state much less St.
Bernard."

A March 24 email claimed to be from a St. Bernard employee and stated that
Peralta "is worried about you, still cares and still in love with you." The
sender asked that she call him and get back together with him. 

Her filing also cited a post on the NOLA.com forum on March 3 that alluded
to the poster having kept a watchful eye on Schaefer and a friend, also
named Sharon. It stated, "How did you and Sharon enjoy shopping at Lowe's?"
Another post on that forum on March 4 called Schaefer and one of her
daughters "two derranged individuals."