[StBernard] St. Bernard President Dave Peralta sexual battery hearing postponed

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard President Dave Peralta sexual battery hearing postponed

Print Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune By Benjamin
Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 
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on October 14, 2014 at 4:20 PM, updated October 14, 2014 at 4:44 PM

A hearing on whether St. Bernard Parish President Dave Peralta's bond should
be revoked and his case moved to another parish is being postponed, after
prosecutors and Peralta's attorneys asked to defer the hearing, initially
set for Wednesday.

The joint motion said that "there have been recent developments in this case
and a related matter that necessitate this continuance." It didn't
elaborate, and both sides are under court orders not to discuss the case
publicly. 

"The parties believe that a short continuance of approximately two weeks
will facilitate the presentation of issues at the motions hearing and
materially advance this case towards a resolution," the motion continued.

The issue arose in Peralta's sexual battery case in St. Bernard, which is
related to accusations by his then-wife that he raped her in October.
Peralta has said he didn't rape Sharon Schaefer and that the sex was
consensual.    

Judge Frank Foil, who was appointed to the case by the state Supreme Court
after all five state judges in St. Bernard recused themselves, had not yet
approved the motion for the continuance on Tuesday. But he was expected to
sing the order and to set a new hearing Oct. 29.

In a motion filed last week, Assistant Attorney General David Weilbaecher
argued that Peralta's bond should "be revoked or increased with additional
restrictive conditions" in an effort to curb "the defendant's aberrant
behavior and to protect the victim."

Weilbaecher wrote that an additional felony indictment against Peralta on
Sept. 24 for stalking showed "repeated violations of multiple protective
orders" concerning Schaefer. Peralta has denied wrongdoing in that case
also. 

If Foil decides not to revoke Peralta's bond, Weilbaecher suggested some
possible alternatives to jail: "home incarceration with curfew, GPS
monitoring, limited internet/email access, no travel outside St. Bernard
Parish without the leave of Court, no access to firearms."

Peralta currently is out of jail on a $35,000 bond in the stalking case and
a $20,000 bond in the sexual battery case.

Peralta has denied the rape accusation in interviews, and he has pleaded not
guilty to the sexual battery charge. The arraignment in the felony stalking
case, which is going forward in St. Tammany, is scheduled for Nov. 10.

Meanwhile, in the sexual battery case, the defense has asked the judge to
move the whole case to a parish outside of St. Bernard because "a fair and
impartial trial cannot be obtained in the parish."

Peralta's defense attorneys in part argued that the venue should be moved
because "pretrial publicity and local notoriety surrounding his case has
been extensive and overwhelming, making it impossible for him to receive a
fair and impartial trial in this parish."

His attorneys Stephen London and Stephen Haedicke added that Weilbaecher
"has been consulted regarding this motion, and has no objection to venue
being change."

The judge now is expected to hear both the state and defense motions, along
with some others, in about two weeks.