A Mississippi man will spend up to 40 years in prison for sex crimes against three children.
Madison and Rankin counties’ District Attorney Bubba Bramlett announced that Sonny Jacob Lee, 44, pled guilty to sexual battery and gratification of lust. Lee’s plea comes eight months after Pearl police responded to a call regarding a child sexual assault victim.
An investigation, which included a forensic interview of the child by the Parker Children’s Advocacy Center in Pearl, then ensued. This forensic interview process allowed trained specialists to gather information from the child victim in a manner that aimed to minimize additional trauma. During the interview, the child disclosed details of the sexual abuse by Lee.
Further investigation revealed Lee had sexually abused two other children. The Parker Children’s Advocacy Center conducted forensic interviews with those children as well, and the youth disclosed details of the abuse. The University of Mississippi Medical Center Children’s Safe Center also performed medical examinations of the children.
“These three children showed true bravery in standing up to their abuser,” DA Bramlett stated. “Our office fights to bring all child predators to justice. The continued collaborative effort of the Pearl Police Department, Mississippi Children’s Advocacy Center, and the UMMC Children’s Safe Center is to be commended because their hard work put this child predator behind bars.”
Lee will spend the first 25 years of his sentence in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections without the possibility of early release or parole. Upon his release, Lee will be placed on supervised probation for an additional five years and must register as a sex offender.
He was further ordered to have no contact with the victims and no unsupervised visitation with any child under the age of 18 unless otherwise ordered by a judge or youth court.
