The situation was the focus of a WBRZ report in December highlighting concerns over a then-unrevealed personal relationship between the man and woman.

Leblanc is a judge in the 23rd Judicial District, which covers Ascension, Assumption and St. James parishes. Only cases in Assumption Parish are part of the review.

The new revelations come after the December report on Channel 2 about an internal investigation launched by the Assumption Parish Sheriff. The review followed Leblanc refusing to sign a warrant citing a personal relationship with Prejean.

The sheriff said the relationship between the judge and the deputy was brought front and center during the inquiry.

"Chief Deputy Bruce Prejean disclosed that the personal relationship began while LeBlanc was a hearing officer and evolved into an intimate relationship after she became judge and lasted for a lengthy period into her judgeship," Falcon said. "I have disclosed all of these facts to all agencies involved."

Leblanc has been on the bench since 2012.

Judge Leblanc told WBRZ Tuesday, Prejean was being dishonest and added it was not appropriate or ethical for her to talk about the situation further.

LSU Law Professor Ken Levy said the allegations create a mess for criminal cases before Leblanc’s court and are a violation of judicial rules.

"You should not have an intimate relationship with anyone that comes before you in court," Levy said.

"We want our judges to be totally impartial and operate with integrity," Levy said. "The appearance of integrity and that went right out the window."

A tedious amount of work may now need to be done to correct possible wrongs, he said.

"Both of them jeopardized so many cases which is going to create a huge administrative mess," Levy said. "It may have been very unfair to many defendants, and the public loses confidence in the judicial system when this happens."

Levy said if a review by the Judiciary Commission warrants action, Judge Leblanc could face censure or be removed from the bench.

Likening the situation to a concern involving members of a jury, Levy gave an example of jurors being removed from cases if they have a connection to someone involved in a trial.

"If a juror would be immediately dismissed, a judge even more so,” he said. “[A judge] is held to the highest standard in society [and] should immediately recuse themselves” from cases where they have a connection,” Levy said.

Sheriff Falcon said Prejean, the chief deputy, will face discipline but did not disclose the punishment.

UPDATE: Police have arrested a suspect in the killings. Click here for the full update. 

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BATON ROUGE- A task force made up of members from local law enforcement agencies was formed in the wake of three homeless people who were mysteriously murdered during a two-week span.

Christina Fowler, 53, and Gregory Corcoran, 40, were both found shot in the head near the intersection of South 16th and North Boulevard on Dec. 13. Two weeks later, Tony Williams, 50, was found shot in the head on the porch of a home blocks away. Investigators believe all three of the homeless victims were asleep at the time of their murders.

Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul said he had been in contact with the feds and the FBI was assisting.

Officials say forming a task force is somewhat unusual for murders. The last time one was set up inside the city limits was in 2017 according to BRPD, when two black men were found shot to death. Their investigation determined Kenneth Gleason was the alleged shooter. He is currently awaiting trial.

Prior to that, police said the last time a murder task force was set up was during the serial killer days. That was in the late '90s and early 2000's as Derrick Todd Lee, Sean Vincent Gillis, and Jeffrey Lee Guillory roamed the streets killing people all around the same time in the Baton Rouge area. 

"It makes me scared," said Roxanne Despanney, a woman that recently became homeless.

The homeless in our community have been advised to walk in groups and try to find somewhere indoors to sleep at night.

With the focus on catching those responsible, leaders at the Baton Rouge Police Department hope their task force will be the answer.

"We got with our surrounding partners, State Police crime lab, State Police, Sheriff Department, Baton Rouge Police, we are all working together," L'Jean McKneely with Baton Rouge Police said.
 

All sides are due back in court in March for a motion hearing.

Also this week, a lawsuit was unsealed in the Livingston Parish courthouse that shows a parent claiming her child was fed cupcakes contaminated with semen on two different occasions. The lawsuit alleges the Livingston Parish School System did not do enough to protect students.

The school system said it would not comment on pending litigation.