A local bail bondsman was charged with statutory rape after allegedly sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl.
Jimmy Thomas was charged with statutory rape last week by the Yazoo City Police Department. And he is also facing charges from the Yazoo County Sheriff’s Department in connection with the alleged assault.
Police Chief Terry Gann said his department received information from the parent of the young victim, prompting an investigation.
“I have to applaud the victim’s mother for her good parenting skills,” Gann said. “Upon checking her daughter’s phone and the Google search results, she approached her child with suspicions, which led to the child admitting to her mother what had happened to her.”
Gann said Thomas allegedly molested the child in the parking lot of Wal-Mart in Yazoo City.
“Through our investigation, we know that the victim got inside a vehicle with him, then went inside Wal-Mart only to return to the vehicle with the suspect,” Gann said. “He then pulled beside the side of the building while it was raining, where he forced her to undress, and he sexually assaulted her.”
Gann said a forensic interview with a child-victim advocacy center supported the accusations found with the investigation.
“During our investigation, we also believed this had happened at least two more times with the same victim,” Gann said. “However, it was committed at a residence outside of our jurisdiction. The Yazoo County Sheriff’s Department was then notified, and they will also be filing charges against him as well.”
Gann said more charges within the police department are also pending.
“With him being a local bail bondsman, his bail bondsman rights have also been stripped away from our department,” Gann said.
