Mississippi Substitute Teacher Sentenced After Being Convicted of Sex Crimes Against Children

On Monday, August 19, 2024, Keshawn Trevyune Belcher, 22, of Gautier, Mississippi plead guilty to one count of Touching a Child for Lustful Purposes and five (5) counts of Exploitation of a Child. Circuit Court Judge Kathy King Jackson sentenced Belcher to the maximum sentence of fifteen (15) years to serve for Touching a Child for Lustful Purposes. In each of the Exploitation of Child counts, Belcher was sentenced to concurrent terms of forty (40) years, with twenty (20) years suspended, leaving twenty (20) years to serve in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Due to the nature of the crimes, Belcher must serve his twenty (20) years of incarceration day-for-day, without hope of early release. The suspended portion of his sentence will be spent on post-release supervision. Upon his release from prison, Belcher must register as a sexual offender for the rest of his life.

According to Assistant District Attorney Carolyn Lewis, who prosecuted the case on behalf of the State, Belcher was a substitute teacher who worked through a staffing agency at Ocean Springs Middle School for less than a week in April 2023. He shared his Snapchat information with students in the classroom and asked them to be his friends on the social media platform. He then sent videos of himself masturbating to several students and asked them to meet and “cuddle.” He also asked them to either send similar videos or to meet him for sexual purposes. These Snapchat solicitations make up the basis of the crimes of Exploitation of a Child. During his guilty plea, Belcher admitted to kissing a 13-year-old student on the mouth while the two were alone in a classroom.

District Attorney Angel Myers Mcllrath stated, “This defendant had a responsibility to look out for the well-being of his students. Instead, he chose to prey on them and to use his position of authority to solicit sexual favors. I commend the quick action of the students involved to stand up and shine a light on the defendant’s sexual deviance. Their bravery prevented the abuse from escalating further, protected other children, and ensured that the defendant was held accountable for his crimes.