Crime
Vicksburg man convicted on 10 counts of Possession of Child Pornography and two counts of Sexual Battery
A Vicksburg man was convicted on 10 counts of Possession of Child Pornography and two counts of Sexual Battery of a Victim Under the Age of 14 in the Warren County Circuit Court on Wednesday.
Assistant District Attorney Branan Southerland, assisted by Assistant DA Liem Walker, prosecuted the case where he presented to the jury that Carl DeAnthony Smith was guilty of all of the crimes that he is charged with during the opening statements. Southerland informed the jury that Smith was brought to the Vicksburg Police Department, in regards to a murder investigation. At the VPD, Smith consented to a search of his phone by Investigator Jerald Hayes.
Assistant District Attorneys Branan Southerland and Liem Walker: Photo by Keith Phillips
Hayes took the stand and testified that when he opened Smith’s phone he immediately saw evidence of child pornography and contacted Deputy Chief Troy Kimble.
Investigator Jerald Hayes: Photo by Keith Phillips
Deputy Chief Kimble eventually gave the phone to Investigator John Nguyen to pull the data where Southerland expressed to the jury that hundreds of other images, including videos were found on Smith’s phone.
Investigator John Nguyen: Photo by Keith Phillips
Southerland then called Kimble to the stand who testified that he interviewed Smith. Kimble was instructed to play parts of the video which contained child pornography.
Deputy Chief Troy Kimble: Photo by Keith Phillips
During Smith’s interview with Kimble, he admitted that he had sex with the victim a few years ago who was age 10 at the time. Kimble also played the interview in court where he is heard asking Smith questions concerning the evidence.
“Who are the other children in your phone,” Kimble said in the audio. “You have sexually explicit videos in your phone and you watched it.”
Smith admitted to having sex with the victim twice but also said that his phone was hacked and that he requested on adult porn videos. He also stated that some of the people in those videos were 17-years-old(still illegal).
During the one full-day trial, it was discovered that Smith placed videos in a certain folder in his phone, including those of the victim.
The jury took only 14 minutes to return with a guilty verdict on all 12 counts.
Judge Toni Terrett set Smith’s sentencing for January 4, 2024.
See a typo? Report it here.