State of Mississippi v. Jimmy David Williams, a/k/a Jimmy D. Williams

Jackson, Mississippi criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with sexual battery.

¶2. On the morning of Wednesday, March 7, 2018, Becky,1 a ninth grader at Moss Point

High School, left her house to walk down the street to the school bus stop. Wednesdays were

uniform inspection days for Becky, who was in the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps

(JROTC) program at her school. Because it was inspection day, Becky left for school early

without her brother.

¶3. On her way to the school bus stop, Becky was stopped by Williams. Becky knew

Williams because he was a friend of her stepfather. Williams, who was in a white SUV,

pointed a gun at Becky and told her to get in the back seat of the vehicle. Becky complied.

Williams drove to a nearby driveway, parked, and directed Becky to remove her clothes.

Williams then got into the backseat with Becky, pulled down his pants, and inserted his penis

into her vagina "more than once.” Williams eventually stopped when a school bus drove by.

Williams pulled up his pants and instructed Becky to put on her clothes, which she did.

Williams got back into the front seat and drove Becky to school. He dropped her off "[w]ith

the rest of the car riders in the back of the school.” As Becky exited the vehicle, Williams

threw six dollars2 at her and "told [her] not to tell anyone.”

¶4. Once at school, Becky immediately advised one of her JROTC instructors, Master

1 A fictitious name is used to protect the minor child's identity. Becky's date of birth

is December 17, 2002.

2 The six dollars consisted of one $5 bill and one $1 bill.

2Chief Douglas Brown, what had happened. Becky's mother and the Moss Point Police

Department were contacted. Becky was taken to Singing River Hospital where a sexual

assault examination was performed.

¶5. Williams was indicted and charged with kidnapping and sexual battery. At trial,

Becky testified to the above events. Becky identified Williams as the man she saw the

morning of March 7.

¶6. Brown testified that on the morning of March 7, 2018, before school had started,

Becky entered the back entrance of the classroom and was "absolutely hysterical,”

"distraught,” and "crying.” According to Brown, Becky "was trying to breathe and talk” but

he "couldn't get her to say anything for . . . a few minutes.” After she calmed down, Becky

explained to Brown that "a man . . . a friend of . . . her stepfather . . . had approached her,

while she was headed to the bus stop, with a firearm and instructed her to get in the car.”

The man then took her "away from the area and . . . raped her and brought her back and

dropped her off at the school.” Brown stated that based on Becky's body posture, he could

tell "she hurt” and that he had to help her walk down the hallway to the resource office.

Brown then advised another JROTC instructor, Lieutenant Commander Tara Lambert, that

Becky was in the office and that Lambert needed to hear what Becky had to say.

¶7. According to Lambert, when she saw Becky around 7:40 a.m., Becky's "head was

down” and she "was shaking really badly and crying.” Lambert testified that Becky "stated

that her stepfather's friend put a gun to her head . . . and raped her.” Lambert also testified

that Becky "threw $6 on the floor” and said, "that's the money he paid me not to say

3anything.” Lambert explained that while waiting on law enforcement to arrive, Becky did

not want to sit down because it "hurt so bad.”

¶8. Singing River Hospital emergency room nurse Hillary Howell Jackson performed a

sexual assault examination on Becky around 8:30 a.m. According to Jackson, Becky

presented to the emergency department with complaints of sexual assault. Becky advised

Jackson that she knew the individual as "family friend Jimmy Williams,” that around 7:15

a.m., as she walked to school, Williams pulled up beside her in his vehicle, pointed a gun at

her, and told her to get in the vehicle. Once in the vehicle, Williams told her to remove her

pants and underwear and then forced himself on top of her, penetrating her vagina with his

penis, and forcing her to have intercourse with him.

¶9. Jackson, who was accepted as an expert in the field of sexual assault examination,

opined that based on her examination, "sexual abuse was highly suspected.” Jackson

explained that Becky had two vaginal tears and a vaginal abrasion, with bleeding observed

at the tear and abrasion area. Jackson noted that the physical findings were consistent with

the history Becky had reported. Jackson obtained various swabs, including a vulvar, vaginal,

and rectal swab. Jackson also collected Becky's clothing, including her underwear.

¶10. Kimberlee Snowden, an investigator with the Moss Point Police Department, spoke

with Becky after the sexual assault examination. Snowden described Becky as "disheveled

and upset” over what had happened. Snowden testified that Becky told her about the incident

and that Becky's version of events was consistent with what Becky had told both Brown and

Lambert.

4¶11. Snowden also spoke with Williams. Williams confirmed that he was thirty-two years

old and that his date of birth is May 24, 1986. Snowden's interview of Williams was

recorded, admitted into evidence, and published to the jury.

¶12. Snowden obtained buccal swabs from both Becky and Williams. She sent the buccal

swabs, the vulvar, vaginal, and rectal swabs, and Becky's clothing to the crime lab for

forensic testing.

¶13. Lindsay Nomichith, who works for the Mississippi Forensics Laboratory, was

accepted as an expert in the field of serology. She explained that serology "is the

examination of items of evidence for the presence or absence of blood or biological fluids.”

Nomichith testified that the P30 protein, which indicates the presence of seminal fluid, was

found on Becky's vulvar, vaginal, and rectal swabs. The P30 protein was also found on

Becky's underwear, and "microscopic examinations for sperm cells were positive.” In other

words, according to Nomichith, sperm cells were present on Becky's underwear.

¶14. George Schiro, the lab director at Scales Biological Laboratory, a private DNA testing

facility, was accepted as an expert in the field of bioscience and forensic DNA analysis.

Schiro explained that he focused his attention on Becky's vulvar and vaginal swabs because,

in his opinion, "those [were] the two most . . . intimate samples that were collected in this

case.” Schiro testified that the P30 protein as well as sperm were present on both the vulvar

and vaginal swabs.

¶15. A partial DNA profile was obtained from Becky's vaginal swab. According to Schiro,

Williams could not be excluded as the source of that partial DNA profile.

5¶16. A mixed DNA profile, one major DNA contributor and one minor DNA contributor,

was obtained from the sperm fraction of Becky's vulvar swab. According to Schiro, the

major DNA contributor profile matched the DNA profile obtained from Williams, and the

minor DNA contributor profile was consistent with the DNA profile obtained from Becky.

Schiro opined that is was "highly likely that [Williams] was the contributor to the sperm

fraction from the vulvar swab.”

¶17. Although Williams elected not to testify, two witnesses were called in his defense.

Kathy Scott, Moss Point School District's lead nurse, testified that when she saw Becky that

morning, Becky "was neatly dressed,” that she "had on her JROTC uniform,” and that "[h]er

hair was in place, intact, pulled back, and very well put together.” When asked to describe

Becky's emotional state, Scott stated that Becky "was crying,” that "she was very upset,” and

that "she was stating at different times that it hurt.”

¶18. Pascal Fraisse, a licensed master social worker, met with Becky approximately two

weeks after the incident on March 20, 2018. According to Fraisse, during this meeting,

Becky reported that she had been kidnapped and raped by a "group of men” before school

as part of a gang initiation. Fraisse explained he did not take notes during his meeting with

Becky but, instead, made notes immediately after the meeting had concluded. He

acknowledged it was possible "that [he] could have mistakenly put [the gang initiation and

the kidnapping and sexual battery] together.”

¶19. Becky denied telling anyone, including Fraisse, that she had been kidnapped by a

group of men and gangraped. She admitted that she had discussed the fact that she was born

6into a gang and that her uncle was the gang leader. Becky explained that "[Fraisse] might

have written it wrong or read it wrong, but what [she] was telling the doctor [w]as how you

get initiated in a gang[.]” According to Becky, because she was born into the gang, she did

not "have to get raped to be in the gang.” Becky testified that she "was not gang-raped” and

that she told Fraisse that Williams had kidnapped and sexually battered her.

Williams was convicted of sexual battery, and he was sentenced to serve thirty years, day for day, in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, without the possibility of parole.3 Williams filed a motion for new trial or, alternatively, a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, which the trial court denied.



Affirmed.