MS Coast man guilty of sex crimes ‘failed in his obligations as a human,’ prosecutor says
A Mississippi Coast man will spend 30 years in prison after he pleaded guilty on Tuesday to sex crimes against a child.
A judge sentenced Brandon Joseph Merrill, 40, of Moss Point on three charges: sexual battery, touching of a child for lustful purposes and exploitation of a child, the office of the District Attorney for Jackson, George and Greene counties announced Wednesday.
“Merrill wholly failed in his obligations as a human,” Assistant District Attorney Nikki Huffman, who prosecuted the case, said in a news release. “Despite being a child herself, the victim, through her unfettered bravery in coming forward about the abuse, has ensured that Merrill is now held accountable for his crimes.”
Merrill abused the female child for five years, between the time she was 9 and 14-years-old, the district attorney’s office said in the news release.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office arrested Merrill in February 2023 after the child “bravely came forward and told of the abuse,” the release said.
Investigators also found a digital hard drive with files that showed Merill’s acts of sexual abuse, the release said.
Circuit Court Judge Calvin Taylor sentenced Merrill to 60 years. He will serve 30 in prison without the possibility of parole or early release.
He will also be listed as a convicted sex offender.
