Dean Kelly used fake name, older pictures to lure latest victim, warrant says

September 10, 2024

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Court documents allege that former model Dean Kelly used fake names and older pictures of himself to lure women on dating apps, including his latest alleged victim.

Kelly, a 52-year-old convicted sex offender, was arrested again on Dec. 7 and booked on one count each of attempted third-degree rape and sexual battery and two counts of failing to register as a sex offender. A magistrate judge on Friday (Dec. 8) set his bond at $1.1 million.

The judge ordered Kelly to 24-hour house arrest, he must wear an ankle monitor, and surrender his passport. A protective order will also be in place.

Detectives said the victim met Kelly through Facebook’s dating app in October, according to an arrest warrant. He was reportedly using the name Zoey and invited the alleged victim to his home. She told detectives when she arrived, late at night, he “did not look the same as his posted photo on his profile page.”

The victim said they continued with their date, which involved watching a movie upstairs. After less than 20 minutes, the victim claims Kelly began tugging at and removing her clothes and insisted she lie on his bed. The victim says Kelly began acting “gross” and she did not know how to leave.

Despite her attempts to resist and repeatedly telling him to stop, the victim told detectives Kelly “blatantly disregarded her boundaries,” and “appeared unfazed and didn’t care at all.”

“The victim stated she just wanted it to stop,” the report reads. “The victim stated she froze. The victim felt that the more she said no, the more it happened, so she laid there wishing for an end.”

The ordeal lasted around 10 minutes before the victim was able to grab her clothes and leave, the warrant reads.

Kelly’s mother, Marilyn, told FOX 8 she did not want to say anything to compromise the newest case against her son, but admitted Dean has emotional problems.

Since he was a young child, Marilyn said her son struggled with insecurities and the need to be close to people. She said he saw a psychiatrist at 11-years-old. She said he is addicted to social media and their family is searching for a doctor who can help him.

Marilyn told FOX 8 she believes her son is innocent.

The New Orleans Police Department said they received several tips between March and August that Kelly was using fake names on Bumble and Facebook like Brodey, Zoey, Ed, and Casho. He was also reported to be using older pictures of himself and claiming he was in his early thirties.

Kelly was released from custody in June of 2022 after serving 10 years in prison for sexual battery, carnal knowledge of a juvenile, and a murder-for-hire plot to kill one of his victims as well as former Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro, his former attorney and now Orleans DA Jason Williams, and Criminal Court District Judge Tracey Flemings-Davillier.

Fox 8 Legal Analyst Joe Raspanti believes the DA’s office should recuse itself.

“Because Jason Williams represented him, I think it’s pretty clear that he should not be the one prosecuting it,” Raspanti said.

Raspanti said the Attorney General’s office is next in line to prosecute the case, unless it recuses itself because Cannizzaro now works there.

“They have to go outside of the box and get what’s known as a special prosecutor. That’s like a defense attorney who has been a prosecutor in his past and would handle this one case. It’s a very rare thing to happen but it does happen on occasion,” Raspanti said.

However, Raspanti believes that’s unlikely to happen.

In 2005, police said Kelly lured three young women to his home in Uptown posing as a talent scout. Initially jailed on suspicion of raping the three women, Kelly pleaded guilty in Sept. 2013 to two counts of sexual battery and one count of carnal knowledge of a juvenile.

In June 2014, Kelly was thrown back into jail when he violated the terms of his probation by using a social media account and failing to register some of his phones with the sexual offender registry.

As part of Kelly’s status as a registered sex offender, he is prohibited from having access to or accounts on social media and dating websites.

Detectives also said Kelly failed to update his sex offender registry to include a new vehicle and a new phone number.

The bond, even higher than what the state was asking for, can be broken down into $900,000 for the attempted third-degree rape charge, $100,000 for sexual battery and $50,000 each for failure to register as a sex offender and failure to notify as a sex offender.

“I don’t know how long it’s going to take us to put it together, but he will make bond. It’s not something we can’t do. I didn’t ask for an amount. I just asked for a bond. We’re good,” said Frank Desalvo, defense attorney.

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