A crowd of supporters for former Columbus High School choir director Michael Jackson openly sobbed in court Friday as Jackson was sentenced to serve seven years in the Mississippi Department of Corrections for soliciting a student for sex.
Meanwhile, the victim’s mother, who had hoped Jackson would receive more prison time, claimed the former teacher’s supporters and even school district administration had criticized her for reporting the incident to police.
A Lowndes County Circuit Court jury found Jackson, 35, guilty of one count of exploitation of a child Thursday after three days of testimony. The victim in the case, who was a 17-year-old junior at CHS at the time of the incident, testified he and Jackson communicated through text and social media messages in November and December of 2013. He said they agreed to meet in person where Jackson would give him more than $200 in exchange for performing a sexual act. They never had that meeting, and Jackson was arrested in February 2014.
CMSD fired Jackson after his arrest.
Jackson’s attorney, Chris Kitchens of Ripley, said he felt the sentence was harsh, given he has represented female teachers found guilty of having sex with students who only serve probation — though he added Lowndes County Circuit Judge Lee Coleman was gracious by not sentencing Jackson to the maximum of 40 years.
“I think probation would have been reasonable because Michael Jackson … has lost his right to teach,” Kitchens said. “He never stepped foot back in the school after he was arrested. He’s never going to be a teacher again. … He won’t be someone who is a teacher preying on students anymore.”
District Attorney Scott Colom said in court the victim requested a seven-year sentence for Jackson.
“I think the evidence was strong that the defendant sexually pursued a student and he confessed to it (to police investigators before the trial),” Colom said after the sentencing hearing. “… The court had to make a determination as to what was the appropriate sentence.”
Kitchens said he plans to appeal the case.
In addition to prison time, Jackson must register as a sex offender.
Allegations against the school district
During the sentencing hearing, the victim’s mother accused administrators at Columbus Municipal School District of telling her she and her son should never have reported Jackson to police.
The Dispatch does not identify victims of sex crimes. However, the victim’s mother was a teacher with CMSD at the time of the incident. She testified that after Jackson’s arrest, she was called to district offices where she met with several school administrators, including then-Deputy Superintendent Craig Shannon.
“He told me while I was sitting there with my son that I had no business going to the police, that this was a school matter,” the victim’s mother said on the witness stand.
Shannon, who is currently serving as CMSD interim superintendent, declined to comment on the testimony when The Dispatch contacted him Friday afternoon and instead referred all questions to CMSD’s attorney, David Dunn.
Dunn did not return a call to The Dispatch by press time.
Kitchens said it would be “shameful” if the allegations were true but asked Coleman not to punish Jackson for something school administrators may have done.
“If the Columbus School District actually said those things to (the victim’s mother), that’s shameful,” Kitchens said after the hearing. “And I want everybody in Columbus to know, I mean, Mr. Jackson was fired. They certainly weren’t doing that on his behalf.
“I can’t imagine that happening to any parent,” he added. “I’m a father myself. … You better believe I would support my child too. So I hope that’s not true.”
During the hearing, multiple people, including former students and local ministers, requested a light sentence for Jackson. Several former students called Jackson a “mentor” and even father-figure, saying he had supported them through difficult times in high school and even after they graduated.
After the hearing, law enforcement officers told Jackson’s supporters to stay in their seats while the victim and his mother left the courtroom.
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