New Orleans architect and wife face 'revenge porn' charges | Daily ... - Daily Mail

• New Orleans architect Gerald Billes, 70, and wife Carmen Midence, 41, arrested
• Cops suspect the two of sharing nude pictures of Billes' ex-girlfriend by email
• No charges yet as prosecutors investigate; case 'without merit,' says lawyer
• But cops suspect the couple of harassing Billes' ex-girlfriend
• Emailed nudes of the ex to friends and created fake Facebook profile, cops say
• 'She is a jilted ex, is what she is,' wife blasts back. 'She won't stop harassing us' 

By Keith Griffith For Dailymail.com

Published: 20:07 EDT, 17 March 2017 | Updated: 20:21 EDT, 17 March 2017

A prominent architect and his wife are ensnared in 'revenge porn' allegations leveled by an ex-girlfriend, as prosecutors struggle to decide whether the case merits charges.

New Orleans architect Gerard Billes, 70, and his wife Carmen Midence, 41, were arrested on December 8 on suspicion of harassing an ex-girlfriend of Billes, but prosecutors have not yet filed charges against the pair, a Friday report by The Times-Picayune revealed. 

The pair were booked on suspicion of two counts of online impersonation, two counts of video voyeurism and two counts of non-consensual disclosure of a private image, Louisiana's relatively new 'revenge porn' law that took effect in 2015, and are currently out on $20,000 recognizance bonds.

Billes' ex-girlfriend claims the married couple emailed two nude photos of her, one taken without her knowledge, to her friends. 

Prosecutors have until a May 7 court date to decide whether to accept the charges, which Midence calls the 'exaggerated' lies of 'a jilted ex.'

New Orleans architect Gerard Billes, 70, and his wife Carmen Midence, 41, were arrested on suspicion of harassing an ex-girlfriend of Billes, but prosecutors have not yet filed charges

Prosecutors have until a May 7 court hearing to decide whether to charge the married couple

'She is a jilted ex, is what she is,' Midence (pictured) says of the accuser, who claims Midence and her husband emailed nude photos of her to friends.

Police first heard the sordid tale in April of 2015, when the ex-girlfriend approached New Orleans police detective Robert Long with 'a voluminous amount of documentation' of alleged harassment at the hands of Billes and Midence, including 'harassing emails, the creation of fake online social media accounts purporting to be [the accuser], as well as the capturing and subsequent dissemination of nude photographs of [the accuser] without her knowledge and consent,' according to Long's warrant affidavit.

The ex-girlfriend, who had previously lived with Billes for four-and-a-half years, claimed that Billes had given two nude photographs of her to his new wife Midence, who then emailed them to at least two of the accuser's friends.

One of the photos, of the woman having sex with Billes, had been taken without her knowledge, the woman claimed. She admitted to posing for the other nude photo, but said she'd asked Billes to delete it.

The ex also accused the pair of creating fake social media accounts to impersonate her, and using them to 'post inflammatory remarks on her own business profile.'

The case stalled until November of 2016, when detectives got responses to search warrants from Facebook, Cox Communications and Yahoo that confirmed the fake accounts were created from an IP address that was registered to Billes' home, according to Long's affidavit.

Midence told the Times-Picayune that 'the charges are absolutely exaggerated' and a concoction by her husband's spurned ex-fiancee.

Midence (right and with Billes left) and Billes have been married since July 2016. The accusations date back to 2013 and 2015, when the accuser says the pair emailed around nudes

'She is a jilted ex, is what she is,' Midence told the newspaper. 'She never got over the fact that we got married.' 

'She won't stop harassing us. It's been a living nightmare,' Midence said.

Midence also claimed that investigators hadn't yet asked for her side of the story.

Billes' lawyer did send a letter to district attorney Leon Cannizzaro in Januar, stating the accusations are 'without merit.' 

The nude photos in question 'were clearly taken with one another's consent, the letter said.

Billes 'is adamant that he did not give out or reveal any photos of [the accuser] to anyone,' the letter continued, adding that the nude photo was taken from Billes' computer by Midence and sent directly to the accuser in a text message.

Billes (right) has no prior convictions. Midence (left) was convicted in 1998 of credit card fraud, and twice on battery and disturbing the peace charges, in 2013 and 2015, records show

The letter also said, 'There are no facts whatsoever to suggest that Mr. Billes had anything to do with the fake (Facebook) profile.... Mr. Billes had nothing to do with the creation of the profile.'  

Billes and Midence have been married since the summer last year, according to their Facebook profiles.

Billes, who has no prior convictions, is the CEO and principle owner of architectural firm Billes Partners, whose major projects include the redesign of the Louisiana Superdome after Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans House of Blues, and Concourse C of Louis Armstrong International Airport.

Midence was convicted in 1998 of credit card fraud, and twice on battery and disturbing the peace charges, in 2013 and 2015, court records show. 

The accuser has since moved out of Louisiana, Midence said. Both she and her husband are forbidden by a restraining order from having contacting the accuser or coming within 600 feet of her until June 8.

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