A former kindergarten assistant from north Mississippi has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison after admitting to transporting child sexual abuse material through social media applications.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Mississippi, 31-year-old Benjamin Wilkes of Courtland sought out images and videos depicting children as young as 4 years old engaged in sexually explicit conduct and stored the material in a social media cloud account for easier access.
Federal prosecutors said Wilkes also possessed covert “up-skirt” images of children from his church community who had been entrusted to his care.
Senior U.S. District Judge Michael P. Willis sentenced Wilkes to 20 years in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release. Wilkes will also be required to register as a sex offender.
During sentencing, Wilkes addressed letters of support on Wilkes’ behalf, saying, “If the community won’t protect its children, the government has to.”
“Child exploitation and pornography are an abomination. No ambiguity, it is evil and a civilized society cannot tolerate its existence,” U.S. Attorney Scott Leary said in a statement. “We as citizens of Mississippi must continue to work tirelessly to redress and stamp out these crimes.”
Acting Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Matt Wright said the sentence demonstrates the agency’s commitment to pursuing those who exploit children.
“This sentence sends a clear message that those who abuse positions of trust and use technology to harm children will be held fully accountable, and we will continue to use every resource available to protect our communities,” Wright said.
At the time of his arrest in April 2025, Wilkes was listed as an assistant with the kindergarten program at Batesville Elementary School. His employment was subsequently terminated, and the South Panola School District told several news outlets that the crimes did not involve any students.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Parker S. King prosecuted the case.
The prosecution was part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which targets the investigation and prosecution of child exploitation offenses.
