Tony Jennings will spend at least the next 10 years of his life behind bars.
A Lowndes County Circuit Court jury found the 17 year old guilty on Wednesday for one count of statutory rape of a then-13-year-old girl. Judge Lee Coleman sentenced Jennings to 15 years at the Mississippi Department of Corrections on Friday with five of the years suspended and five years under post-release supervision.
The victim reported the incident June 9, 2010, at which time she went to the hospital.
Almost 15 months later, according to the victim”s mother, the victim did not want to be anywhere near Jennings and chose not to attend the sentencing. The victim, who is now 14 years old, did testify during the trial, but that was enough, her mother said.
However, her mother still asked the court to show Jennings compassion due to his young age.
“What I would like to happen is I want him to go and pay for what he”s done,” she said. “Ten years is the minimum amount of time.
“Even though what he”s done has hurt our family, he”s a young man. I don”t want to see him spend the rest of his life in prison.”
Assistant District Attorney Mark Jackson asked the court “to show the defendant the same mercy (the victim) was shown,” and Gary Goodwin, the court-appointed public defender for Jennings, asked the court to do what the victim”s mother wanted and “show a measure of compassion.”
Judge Coleman said the request by the victim”s mother moved him and the sentence probably would have been longer if she did not make it.
The five suspended years will be taken out of the sentence if Jennings successfully completes the post-release supervision after serving 10 years at the Mississippi Department of Corrections. If Jennings does not abide by the regulations of the supervision, which include no contact with the victim and registering as a sex offender, the suspension could be revoked and he must serve the entire 15 years.
The jury also found Jennings, who was tried as an adult, guilty of one count of resisting arrest, which the judge sentenced him to six months and a $500 fine.
The Lowndes County Circuit Court session concluded Friday.
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