ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST PARISH, La. — A St. John the Baptist Parish judge was found guilty of inappropriately touching several teens Saturday.
Jeff Perilloux had been suspended as judge of the 40th Judicial District while the trial is ongoing.
He was convicted on three counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile and one misdemeanor count of sexual battery after groping his teenage daughter's friends. His victims were 14, 15 and 17-years old.
Perilloux took the stand Friday during his trial, defending himself after the testimony of the three teenage girls accusing him.
He denied touching the girls, saying he was rubbing lotion on their backs.
In response to testimony from one girl that he had reached under her shirt, Perilloux told reporters "I didn't touch her breasts. Period."
Under cross-examination, he admitted he had once bought alcohol for the underage girls on a beach trip.
Perilloux also admitted that he was wearing only underwear when he applied vapor rub to a 17-year-old's chest.
"I pulled her t-shirt a little to put it on the top of her chest," he told the jury under oath.
When asked if he had given inappropriate massages to a 15-year-old, he denied it to reporters outside the courthouse.
"I wasn't giving her massages. I was simply rubbing her neck," the judge said.
In addition to removal from the bench, Perilloux faces up to seven years in prison for each count of indecency. It is unclear when sentencing will take place.
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