Disclaimer: All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — A man wanted by the New Orleans Police Department for attempted rape and battery has been arrested.
According to the NOPD, Special Victims Division officers arrested 52-year-old Dean Kelly on Thursday, Dec. 7 on charges of attempted third-degree rape and sexual battery from an October incident.
Kelly is a former New Orleans model, known for his appearance in an Aerosmith video.
Records show in 2011, he was in his early 40s when he was accused of preying on young women oftentimes around the Uptown universities.
Kelly was charged with forcible rape and kidnapping, but he pleaded guilty to lower charges and was released.
Then, he violated his probation with more sex-related charges and went back to jail with a $1 million bond.
In 2017, his bond was revoked, and he was sent to Rayburn Correctional Center in Washington Parish.
Kelly was released last year and is now accused of an attempted rape committed in October.
“It really depends on what the allegations are,” WGNO legal analyst Cliff Cardone said. “I mean, if the allegations are coming from someone who is an untrusted source, and then at that point, they will probably take it to trial.”
Cardone says one person who most likely will not prosecute Kelly’s case is District Attorney Jason Williams, who had previously been one of Kelly’s defense lawyers.
“There may be a conflict there, and that’s up to his present attorneys to allege that there’s a conflict and ask that Jason Williams be removed from the prosecution in which case the attorney general might come in and prosecute the case,” Cardone said.
The attorney also says that if Kelly is convicted this time, he will likely face many more years in prison.
“I don’t think he’s going to get another chance,” Cardone said. “He’s going to get the book, sort of speak, thrown at him.”
The NOPD has not released any specific information about the current attempted rape charge against Kelly.
Officers say the investigation is active and ongoing. Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call officers at (504)-658-5523 or Crimestoppers at (504)-822-1111.
Stay up to date with the latest news, weather and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play stores and by subscribing to the WGNO newsletter.