Former jailer sentenced to 5 years for sexual battery

A former Neshoba County corrections officer was sentenced to five years in prison during March term in Circuit Court.

Randal Bernard Prince, 49, of Louisville, was convicted of sexual battery between a corrections officer and prisoner after the jury deliberated for 13 minutes on March 19, according to District Attorney Steven Kilgore.

The two-day trial resulted in a guilty conviction for Prince. The state presented evidence that while Prince was working as a jailer at the Neshoba County Detention Center, he engaged in sexual penetration with an inmate, Kilgore said.

The court sentenced Prince to serve five years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

“Because this is a sex offense, he must serve every day of the sentence and is not eligible for early-release or parole,” Kilgore said. “Also, he must register as a sex offender upon release.”

Neshoba County Sheriff Eric Clark said Prince was arrested on June 16 and then transferred later that day to the Leake County Correctional Facility.

Clark said the arrest came after Jail Administrator Brad Stuart opened an investigation based on a tip he received from an inmate.

He incorporated Neshoba County Sheriff’s investigators who collectively gathered video recordings, statements from inmates, and phone conversations that corroborated the allegations.

The incidents happened on May 2, May 19 and June 8 while Prince was on watch in the control tower.

Prince was able to deceive detention staff for a short period of time, unlock inmates, and lure them to the staff restroom, Clark said.

During the March term of Circuit Court, the District Attorney’s Office secured three felony convictions following jury trials, Kilgore said.

• Joshua Lewis Quintana was sentenced to 45 years on one count of sexual battery and one count of gratification of lust as a habitual offender on March 10.

• Stephanie M. Vance was sentenced to life in prison for the March 2023 murder of Christopher Bland, her boyfriend at the time. Her trial also began on March 18 and ended on March 19.

Clark said Kilgore’s office “does an outstanding job prosecuting these felony cases.”