Shelley St.Pierre Dufresne & Rachel Alyse Respess, Destrehan, Louisiana (suspended Sept 2014)

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2014/11/shelley_dufresne_teacher_in_de.html

Restrictions eased.... Nice to see a different pic of the woman.

 

Her father was escorting her. Wonder where her husband was....if ever there was a time to stand by his wife's side....

Seems they are going out of their way to help her avoid doing the walk of shame through the reporters. She was already seated in the front row when security allowed the reporters inside the courtroom. News just broke of the hearing and I've seen only a couple of photo's so far of her getting into a car afterwards. Perhaps there will be more later.

 

According to news reports, Respess's lawyer says his client hopes to eventually put this behind her.

News Flash: This will follow Dufresne and Respess for a very long time to come, and it should. I still think Dufresne just doesn't get how much involving Respess increased the magnitude of the crime they both committed against this kid or the public interest this little plot twist would generate once the kid blabbed his secret (as both women should have known he would, regardless of any assurances the teenager made that he wouldn't....time to sharpen the tools in the shed!). If the attorney for Respess thinks his client can put this behind her, he's nuts. With the notoriety this has gotten, it will always be a part of what defines both of them from this point forward. Their children, current and yet to be born, will read about their mom's crimes as they get older, as will all their friends. Perhaps if they change their names, the color of her hair, etc., they can go relatively unnoticed by the general public over time....but it will never be fully behind either one of them. It will always be that pink elephant in the room everyone whispers about.

To Dufresne and Respess....look at the impact this has had on your lives. Look at the impact this has had on your families. Look at the impact this has had on this teenager. Was it worth it? Was the sexual satisfaction you got from that evening of sexually abusing this kid worth the damage done to the lives of everyone involved?

 

She was dressed awful and I'm sure that was part of her "insanity defense" being engineered by Daddy the Judge. An ill-fitting 2 piece black suit and what looked to be a maternity blouse???? Come on Shelley.....you would not have been caught dead in that outfit 6 months ago!!!!

[Edited: News media photos generally are covered by copyrights and can't be used without permission.]

 

A bit more info in this news story...

http://www.theneworleansadvocate.co...an-teacher-accused-of-having#storylink=relast

Basically, documentation submitted to the court established the time span of sexual activity related to Dufresne's charge of carnal knowledge in her own Parrish. (That is, the charges associated with her one-on-one play times with the high school junior.) There was never any discussion about any subsequent meetings between Dufrense and her boy toy after the threesome. All we knew was that Dufresne had more than one meeting with him because of the use of a plural in the police report from her Parrish. I think most (including the media) assumed that the threesome in Kenner was the last time either of these women had sex with the boy, and that things started to unravel after that weekend. But apparently, that wasn't the case. According to court documents, Dufresne was having sex with the boy between August 22 (a Friday) and September 27 (a Saturday). The threesome happened on Sept. 12 (a Friday). So there was a little over two weeks of additional play time for Dufresne. She seems to live for the weekend when it comes to her sex play with this boy. My guess is she kept to her pattern and we'll find she met with the boy at least once each weekend between the time it started and the time it ended.

So apparently Dufresne was still focused and working hard to satisfy her sexual desire for this young teenager, even after the threesome with Respess. But I think we all kinda got Dufresne's number, and finding out there was more sex taking place between she and her boy toy isn't a huge shock. She is clearly motivated by a part of her body other than her brain. The question now is, what was up with Respess during that two week period before everything exploded in their faces? Was she racked with guilt over giving into Dufresne's encouragement to join her in sexually molesting the boy? Perhaps she was even avoiding Dufresne at school and trying to distance herself from both of them. OR....After Dufresne took the boy home to his parents (dropping him off around a nearby corner one would assume), did Respess have a sly smile on her face for the rest of that weekend as she reminisced about the sexual pleasure she'd gotten from her and Dufresne molesting the boy? Over the subsequent two weeks did she and her BFF Dufresne talk about what had happened, reminiscing and reliving the sexual event with each other. Was Dufresne giving her the blow by blow following subsequent sex hookups with the boy. Was Respess's future involvement in another threesome (or getting in on her own one-on-ones with the boy) just a matter of time and scheduling? Perhaps we will find out in time....?

 

Also, the Advocate article cites the fact that the Asst DA filed a protection order on release of information for reasons including the age of witnesses in the plural sense.

"Julie Cullen, an assistant district attorney who is prosecuting the case, filed for a protective order to prohibit Dufresne or her attorney from releasing materials provided during the court’s discovery phase, “due to the very sensitive nature of the allegations in this case and the age of the victim and several witnesses.”

In what capacity did these underage witnesses act? I doubt they all only were witnesses to the victim's bragging or the gossip at school. Could there have been more to this scandal than just the threesome that prompted the arrests of Shelley and Rachel?

And, the timeline states Dufresne's encounters with the victim began on August 22cd....so what else happened prior to that all summer??? Are we to believe that Dufresne suddenly began her relationship with the victim at the very beginning of the school year??? It must have been a fun summer for Shelley and her high school friend(s)!!!!

 

I think if there were any other students targeted by Dufresne the authorities would have said something to that effect...or, if there was suspicion of such, solicited any other unreported victims to come forward. I'm betting the young witnesses were simply audience members of the boy bragging, or witnesses to the teacher's behavior or comments leading up to and during the sexual abuse timeframe and up to the day they were arrested.

School had been in session for two weeks before the first sexual abuse occurred. (Interestingly there was a football scrimmage with another school's team taking place that day. It seems Dufresne timed her sexual abuse around the kids football activities.) I'm sure all teachers are naturally aware of the good looking students in the school and secretly look forward to having them in their class. It's only natural. I'm sure many teachers will toe the line with how close they allow themselves to get with these students. Again, to a degree it's only natural. Respess probably clued Shelley into the fact that she would have a hottie in her class. And perhaps there was some prior discussion between the two about him (like two male teachers who are close friends talking about which varsity cheerleader they wish they could have sex with...) So yeah, two weeks is a very brief period of time for everything to have developed to the point of a sexual act if Dufresne and the boy had no prior knowledge of each other or interaction at all...but I doubt that was the case. With access to teachers (and students) via social media these days, there were likely prior emails or text messages initiated by either Dufresne (perhaps toeing the line) or the boy before the school year started...the question is, at what point did the communication turn sexual in nature, and did Dufresne initiate it or make any attempt to stop it (if it was the boy who had done so)?

 

[removed]

Another photo that recently emerged of Shelley leaving the courthouse.

[Edited: News media photos generally are covered by copyrights and can't be used without permission.]

 

Well, after a month's hiatus due to the Holidays, the Dufresne/Respess case is now slowly resuming with a decision on Dufresene's charges in Jefferson Parish due over the next several days.

Shelley will find out the status of her charges at the next hearing scheduled for Tuesday 1/13/15:
http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2015/01/shelley_dufresne_teacher_in_de_1.html

And, as predicted, Rachel's case is moving along at an intentional snail's pace awaiting any developments in Shelley's case:
http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf...ce_says_destrehan_high_teachers_attorney.html

When asked why the case is moving along very slowly, Jeffery Smith (Rachel's attorney) replied:
"There is absolutely nothing strange or odd about the way it's going," Smith said. "It's just the process. ... There are a lot of things to investigate."

Despite Rachel's statements to police during her arrest (nearly a complete confession), Smith maintains that his client is innocent:
He reiterated her innocence of a crime Friday, saying cryptically that she "didn't have consensual sex with that boy." Jeffrey Smith would not elaborate to a reporter, saying: "It's up to your imagination what that means."

So, if the sex was not "consensual", is Rachel now a victim of Shelley's sexual escapades? Or was Rachel's judgment blurred due to intoxication or simply the "heat of the moment?"

The next status hearing in Rachel's case is not scheduled until 3/5/15 which allows plenty of time for Shelley's case to play out in the courts. This obviously reduces any legal pressure on Rachel to testify against Shelley in exchange for immunity. The legal juggling of these two cases is becoming very obvious and the DA's/judge involved all seem to be intimidated by Dufresne's family connection to the courts. After all, Shelley was allowed to "Jazzercise" her way through the Holiday season!!!!

A very insightful clip from the NOLA.com article's comment thread:

posted by "Safety Dude"
"One has to wonder if Dufresne and Respess's attorneys are communicating behind the scenes and coordinating their defense strategies. Assuming Respess was a willing participant, you'd think she'd be singing like a canary against Dufresne to get some leniency. Assuming whatever sexual acts she engaged in were "non-consensual, you'd think the boys testimony would corroborate that and Dufresne would have additional charges against her for helping/encouraging the boy to rape her apparently incapacitated BFF. Oh what a tangled web we weave when we work so hard to deceive....

I just hope common sense prevails, that what took place is exactly what it appears to have been, and that both women receive the punishment they deserve for conspiring and executing the sexual abuse of this high school student. As the ring leader and repeated offender, hopefully Dufresne's punishment will reflect that as well.

Still wondering what's the deal with Mr. Dufresne and why he's not voiced or demonstrated any support for his supposedly mentally disturbed wife. If it's true that she was so screwed up that she wasn't responsible for her actions, I'd certainly be there for my wife if I was in his shoes."

 

And, as expected, the DA did not announce any charges during the 1/13/15 hearing in Jefferson Parish. Just more evidence that points to intimidation of the courts and prosecutors involved in this case by the Dufresne family influence. Obviously the tactic here is to keep pushing this case further into the future so it eventually drops off the media radar...and then accept a plea deal that will probably be as severe as a traffic ticket.

Shelley's next hearing is 3/11/15....strategically set for one week AFTER Rachel's court date of 3/5/15.

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2015/01/shelley_dufresne_teacher_in_de_2.html

 

Looks like the Louisiana gals are getting some competition from the west coast:

• Melody Suzanne Lippert & Michelle Louise Ghirelli, West Covina, California (arrested Jan 2015)

 

It will be very interesting to watch the progression of this new case in California in comparison to the snail's pace of the Destrehan case!!! Melody and Michelle do not seem to have the "resources" available to Shelley Dufresne, and I would imagine that both the school board and DA will act quickly. Hopefully the St. Charles and Jefferson Parish DA's (and the SCP school board) are watching this new case and getting their act in-gear!!!

I wonder how thrilled Shelley and Rachel are to see this news???

 

Similarities abound. Elder teacher has sex with a student and then seeks opportunities for repeat performances. Elder teacher (we assume) blabs to younger teacher what she did and that she wants to do again. The elder teacher then assumes the ring leader role in setting up a sex event that will involve this eager and willing younger teacher. Elder invites younger (or perhaps younger asks to be invited.....student comments suggest she always acted flirtatiously with male students, some saying they weren't surprised when she was identified as one of the perpetrators). Rather than report the illicit conduct, younger teacher instead joins in and conspires with the elder. No mention of group sex however. It would be interesting to know if the sex occurred in the same tent at the same time, or did the teachers take the students to separate tents/locations to do their dirty deeds.

Still, the Dufresne / Respess event seems slightly more heinous than the California beach event.... We don't know yet if Ghirelli went to the beach party knowing she'd be getting jiggy with a specific student or if she just showed up knowing multiple male students would be there, open to the idea having sex like her older friend, and then letting the evening take it's course. Still, getting caught up in the raunchiness taking place at a beach party vs. one teacher waiting at her place for the other teacher to bring a student by knowing sex was on the agenda.....yeah, the scummy behavior award still goes to Dufresne and Respess.

The mug shots are interesting though. The older teacher got the ball rolling for her friend and set everything up but the younger teacher ended up committing the more serious crime by choosing an underage student as her boy toy for the night. The look on Ghirelli's face says it all.