AG Fitch announces sentencing in three child exploitation cases

Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced on Friday the sentencing of three individuals who were investigated and prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office for child exploitation.

“My office is dedicated to investigating and prosecuting any individual who exploits our state’s most vulnerable citizens,” said Attorney General Lynn Fitch. “If you suspect a child is being sexually exploited, please report it. Your tip could be the key in serving justice for the victims and keeping others safe.”

On February 17, 2023, Quandom Demorrow Benn of Hattiesburg received a sentence of eight years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC), with four years to serve followed by five years of post-release supervision, by Forrest County Special Circuit Judge Lamar Pickard. Benn must also register as a sex offender.

On February 22, 2023, Larry Rostchild III of Pascagoula was sentenced by Harrison County Circuit Judge Lawrence P Bourgeois Jr. to a term of forty years in custody of the MDOC, with seven years to serve followed by five years of post-release supervision. Additionally, Rostchild must register as a sex offender. Rostchild’s arrest was part of the Attorney General’s “Operation Bad Santa,” a multi-jurisdiction operation led by the General’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.

On February 22, 2023, former Deputy Sheriff Lybriant Clark of Smith County was sentenced by Forrest County Circuit Judge Jon Mark Weathers to thirty years in custody of the MDOC, with eight years to serve and five years of post-release supervision. Clark must register as a sex offender and permanently surrender any certification as a law enforcement officer.

If you have information about a child being sexually exploited online, please report it to 1-800-843-5678. The hotline is manned 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and tips are reported to the Attorney General’s Office. You can also make a report online at www.cybertipline.org.