Dean Kellys mom posts $1.1 million bond; jail staff fail to collect passport upon release

August 02, 2024

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Dean Kelly, a convicted sex offender and former New Orleans model, was released from jail on a $1.1 million bond, but questions arise regarding compliance with court-ordered conditions.

Kelly’s mom posted bond Monday night (Dec. 18). Under the conditions of his release, Kelly, facing charges including attempted third-degree rape and sexual battery, is confined to 24-hour house arrest, and fitted with an ankle monitor.

“His zone is going to be his home,” said Matt Dennis with ASAP Release, an electronic monitoring company. “He really can’t leave his home. He can possibly sit on the porch, but there really is not much more give than that.”

Violations trigger immediate alerts to his accuser and authorities.

“It will initiate an opportunity not only for the victim to see what’s happening in real-time, but it will allow for communication with us and NOPD in real-time. It’s a quick reaction, it works. She gets an alert if he gets around her, so it’s really interactive,” Dennis said.

A judge also prohibited him from using the internet and dating sites and mandated the surrender of his passport. However, the collection of the document has become a point of contention.

“We don’t collect the passport,” Dennis said. ”It’s the duty of the Sheriff to do that and we’re not aware of that passport being collected.”

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“It’s up to the jail who is doing the releasing to determine if he met all of those conditions of bail to be released,” said Fox 8 Legal Analyst Joe Raspanti. “If he does have a passport, the judge wants him to surrender it. I’m assuming that is the duty of the sheriff’s office to get it from him. Momma should also be considered because if he does abscond, unless she’s in on the plan, she will lose her $1.1 million. Everybody has an interest in him showing up for court.”

The Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office says the sheriff’s office has not collected Kelly’s passport.

“Once we confirmed OPSO did not receive a passport as ordered by the court, we engaged security officials with Armstrong International Airport to notify them of judicially ordered travel restrictions placed on Kelly and provided identifying information,” a spokesperson for the DA’s office said.

The DA’s office reached out to Kelly’s attorney and urged him to contact his client to surrender his passport.

“Our office argued that Kelly should be held without bail, because he is an unreasonable danger, a clear recidivist and a flight risk,” a DA spokesman said. “That request was overruled, and the court issued bail restrictions. Though the Court retains primary authority for enforcement following a failure to comply, if we learn that any condition of release has been violated, we will request that he be remanded without bail.”

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