Update: Ex-Ms Coast school resource officer arrested on sex crimes charges ran for mayor

Martha Sanchez, Margaret Baker
·2 min read
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A Moss Point School resource officer arrested on sex crimes charges had previously run for mayor and served as a member of the School Board, officials confirmed Thursday.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department on Wednesday arrested Isaiah Thomas Hayes, 38, on three counts of sexual battery and one count of enticing a child for sexual purposes, a press release said.

He is accused of committing the crimes between August and the end of October.

Hayes worked as a campus police officer from March 15 until his arrest on Nov. 8, the Moss Point School District said. Before that, Hayes had served as vice president of the Moss Point School District board of trustees, according to a 2019-2020 district handbook. He ran for Moss Point mayor in 2017 and for alderman at large in 2021, according to a campaign Facebook page.

Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said his office began investigating after the Moss Point Police Department asked for help on the case within its school district. He said a 17-year-old victim also had come forward.

The alleged crimes occurred off campus, Ledbetter said.

In a statement, the Moss Point School District said it will cooperate with law enforcement and follow privacy laws to protect students and employees.

“Under no circumstances does the Moss Point School District condone or tolerate employees engaging in criminal conduct with students,” the statement said. “Should information be presented to the MPSD’s administration that such inappropriate behavior may be taking place, the district immediately investigates and handles each situation.”

School resource officers act as campus police and are certified through the Mississippi Board of Law Enforcement Standards and Training, according to the Moss Point School District website. They enforce security and can also mentor at-risk students, the website said.

Hayes is not the first Moss Point resource officer to be charged with sex crimes. In 2017, a jury convicted another former Moss Point High School campus police officer on charges of touching of a child for lustful purposes and sexual battery. That officer is serving a 20- year prison term after a judge sentenced him to 30 years in prison, with 20 served day-for-day and the remainder on post-release supervision.

Circuit Judge Keith Miller signed the warrant for Hayes’ arrest. The release said Hayes was granted a $30,000 bond for each charge after he appeared in court Thursday morning.