State of Mississippi v. Mancel L. Rencher a/k/a Mancel Logan Rencher

Hernando, Mississippi, criminal defense lawyers represented the Defendant charged with two counts of gratification of lust for fondling his minor daughter.

Boone and his former wife, Penny, have two daughters, Marcia and Sasha.2 The

couple separated in 2010 when Marcia was six years old and when Sasha was three years old.

The couple had a contentious divorce, lasting from 2010 to 2013. A guardian ad litem

(GAL), Robin Minyard, was appointed in June 2012 after a therapist for the children had a

private conversation with the presiding chancellor. Upon the GAL's recommendation, the

DeSoto County Chancery Court temporarily required supervised visits between Boone and

his daughters in 2012. The girls would stay with Boone at his apartment every other

weekend during the school year and every other week during the summer. A final decree of

divorce was entered on June 7, 2013, with sole physical custody given to Penny.



In August 2020, sixteen-year-old Marcia disclosed to her mother that Boone had

sexually abused her and her sister. Penny filed a report with the Southaven Police

Department. On June 9, 2021, a DeSoto County grand jury indicted Boone on two counts

of gratification of lust (fondling).



The defense filed a pretrial motion in limine on March 23, 2023, seeking to exclude

any prior bad-acts testimony by Sasha that her father had "allegedly touched her

inappropriately on her breasts at an unknown date.” The motion argued that "any proposed

evidence of prior bad acts does not conform to the Mississippi Rules of Evidence and should

be excluded.” The defense also noted in the motion that the GAL's extensive report

2The Court will use pseudonyms to refer to the minors involved in this case to protect

their identities.