LOWNDES COUNTY – A 2021 sexual battery case involving a minor ended in a mistrial Friday after the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict.
A Lowndes County Circuit Court jury deliberated for nearly five hours following a three-day trial involving Dwight Irons, 33, who is charged with statutory rape of a child under the age of 14.
Ben Lang, assistant district attorney for the 16th Circuit, said a second trial will likely be scheduled for the next court term in May.
“The jury – they met and they heard the evidence and they deliberated, and that was their decision, and we respect that,” Lang told The Dispatch on Monday. “We’ll move on from here and decide the strength of our case going forward. … We need to look at the strength of our evidence and how (we can) make it a more compelling argument for a jury.”
The alleged crime took place around Dec. 7, 2021, when Irons, age 29 at the time, was living with his girlfriend and three children in Artesia, Lang said. Irons is accused of committing sexual battery against one of the children in the home.
The victim was interviewed at Sally Kate Winters Family Services in West Point following the alleged incident, according to previous reporting by The Dispatch. Irons was indicted for the crime in August 2023 and was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service in October of that same year.
During the trial, the district attorney’s office presented witness testimony, scientific evidence and photographs of the scene of the alleged crime. Lang would not go into further detail with The Dispatch regarding the prosecution’s evidence so as not to “influence” parties, given the potential for a second trial.
“The crux of the position is that we felt like we had enough evidence, and (the defense’s) argument was (the evidence) was insufficient,” Lang said.
Public Defender Amanda Meadows, who represented Irons with co-counsel Stephen Ross, said the defense primarily hinged on “inconsistencies” in the victim’s reporting of the alleged crime, lack of sufficient evidence indicating sexual trauma and lack of follow-up from investigators throughout the case pertaining to DNA evidence found on a blanket in the child’s bed.
“I think (the jury) really had a hard time with the fact that it’s a heinous crime to allege someone of, and most people have a knee-jerk reaction to that when you hear that charge,” Meadows told The Dispatch on Monday. “That’s normal, but I think (the jury) had the same concerns we did. … If it’s all based on the child’s statement for the most part, and none of the other stuff adds up … that’s really scary that it can come down to a kid saying that.”
As of press time Monday, a motion to proceed with a second trial had not been filed.
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