UPDATE: St. Tammany Man Responds to Animal Abuse Charges as Sheriff’s Office Provides New Details

UPDATE: St. Tammany Man Responds to Animal Abuse Charges as Sheriff’s Office Provides New Details

New information is providing additional context surrounding the arrest of 44-year-old Justin Allen, who was booked into the St. Tammany Parish Correctional Center last week on charges that include two counts under Louisiana’s sexual abuse of an animal statute and two counts of obstruction of justice.

The Rabbit Hole News initially reported Allen’s arrest based on publicly available jail records and court minutes, which listed the charges as two counts of sexual abuse of an animal and two counts of obstruction of justice.

Allen has now publicly responded to the allegations and says the circumstances are not what the name of the charge may lead people to believe.

According to Allen, his cellphone was turned over to law enforcement as evidence in an unrelated domestic case. He claims that after investigators searched the phone, they discovered a disturbing video that had previously been sent to him through a group chat involving coworkers.

Allen says the video depicted a local woman engaged in sexual activity with an animal. He claims he did not create the video or participate in the activity shown.

Allen further claims that he took a screenshot from the video and sent it to a friend because he believed the woman depicted resembled someone they knew in high school.

“For the record, I absolutely detest this type of behavior,” Allen wrote publicly in response to The Rabbit Hole News’ original report.

After receiving similar information from a member of Allen’s family, The Rabbit Hole News contacted the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office seeking clarification about what investigators allege actually occurred.

The Sheriff’s Office has now responded.

According to Lt. Suzanne Carboni, Public Information Officer for the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, detectives were investigating an unrelated domestic violence case when they obtained a search warrant for Allen’s cellphone.

“During a forensic examination of the phone, a detective located videos depicting an individual sexually abusing an animal,” Carboni said.

The Sheriff’s Office said Allen was subsequently booked on two counts of Louisiana Revised Statute 14:89.3.

Despite the name of the statute, Louisiana law includes more than personally engaging in sexual activity with an animal. The statute also addresses certain conduct involving pornographic images depicting sexual activity between a person and an animal.

The Sheriff’s Office did not state in its response that Allen was the individual depicted in the videos.

The agency also provided additional information regarding Allen’s two obstruction of justice charges.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, detectives obtained and reviewed jail phone calls during the investigation. Investigators allege those calls revealed Allen was attempting to interfere with the ongoing investigation.

As a result, Allen was additionally charged with two counts of obstruction of justice under Louisiana Revised Statute 14:130.1.

Allen’s explanation and the Sheriff’s Office’s statement therefore provide two important pieces of the developing story.

Allen maintains that the videos came to him through a group chat and that his involvement was limited to receiving the material and subsequently sharing a screenshot with a friend.

The Sheriff’s Office confirms that investigators discovered videos on Allen’s cellphone during a forensic examination but has not publicly detailed how investigators believe the videos came into his possession, what specifically forms the basis of each count under the animal abuse statute, or the specific statements contained in the jail calls that investigators allege constituted obstruction.

Allen appeared Monday for a felony 72-hour hearing before Judge James G. Burke III of Louisiana’s 22nd Judicial District Court.

Bond was set at $15,000 on each of the two animal-related counts, for a total bond of $30,000.

The Office of Indigent Defender was appointed to represent Allen.

The charges against Allen remain allegations. He has not been convicted of the offenses, and the evidence underlying the charges has not yet been fully presented or tested in court.

The Rabbit Hole News will continue to report additional verified information as it becomes available.