Vicksburg man scheduled to go on trial next week for Sexual Battery of a Child Under the Age of 14

VICKSBURG, Miss.(VDN)—A Vicksburg man is scheduled to go on trial next week for the alleged crime of Sexual Battery of a Child Under the Age of 14. Michael Allen Shirey will stand trial next week, beginning on June 24th.

Back in April 2022, Shirey was indicted on sexual battery with a victim under the age of 14. The indictment alleges that from January 2018 to December 2019, from December 2020 to January 2021, and in June 2021 that Shirey allegedly engaged in sexual penetration with a child under the age of 14.

Judge Toni Terrett will preside over this case where a jury will decide if Shirey will be convicted or acquitted.

For an acquittal, all 12 jurors must vote “not guilty” in deliberation. If convicted, Shirey faces a maximum life sentence in the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

Mississippi Law on Sexual Battery:

1) A person is guilty of sexual battery if he or she engages in sexual penetration with:

(a) Another person without his or her consent;

(b) A mentally defective, mentally incapacitated, or physically helpless person;

(c) A child at least fourteen (14) but under sixteen (16) years of age, if the person is thirty-six (36) or more months older than the child; or

(d) A child under the age of fourteen (14) years of age, if the person is twenty-four (24) or more months older than the child.

(2) A person is guilty of sexual battery if he or she engages in sexual penetration with a child under the age of eighteen (18) years if the person is in a position of trust or authority over the child including without limitation the child’s teacher, counselor, physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, minister, priest, physical therapist, chiropractor, legal guardian, parent, stepparent, aunt, uncle, scout leader or coach.