News Briefs From Across The State
Reportedly abused several boys
An April 2 trial date is set for a former Mississippi music minister accused of sexual crimes against boys in the 1980s. The Clarion-Ledger reports that John Langworthy pleaded not guilty Tuesday during his arraignment in Hinds County Circuit Court.
The 49-year-old is charged with eight felony counts of gratification of lust for incidents that allegedly occurred between 1980 and 1984. He’s accused of befriending boys at two Baptist churches in Jackson, then sexually abusing them.
Langworthy is married and has two daughters. He recently resigned as music minister at Morrison Heights Baptist Church in the Jackson suburb of Clinton and also had been a Clinton High choir teacher.
Man sentenced to 5 years for food stamp fraud
A Jackson man has been sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to lying on an application for food stamps. U.S. District Judge Daniel Jordan sentenced 49-year-old Louis S. Brooks on Monday. Brooks was ordered to pay $2,908 in restitution.
Brooks was indicted on six counts in May. He pleaded guilty to one count in July.
Prosecutors say Brooks filed an application for food stamps in 2009. Brooks said in the application that no member of his household had been convicted of a drug-related felony that was committed since Aug. 22, 1996. However, Brooks had been convicted of such a felony.
Anyone convicted of a drug related felony after Aug. 22, 1996, is prohibited from receiving benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps.
Sentencing set for convicted sex offender
A federal judge has set a January sentencing date for a man convicted of failing to register as a sex offender. Robert Lee Hampton was required to register as a sex offender due to a 1997 conviction for rape and carnal knowledge of a child under 14. He was indicted last November for failing to register. He pleaded guilty in August.
The sentencing is scheduled to take place in U.S. District Court in Aberdeen.
Another man charged with failing to register as a sex offender will face a jury in December. Darrell Wayne Byrd was indicted in April on one charge of failing to register as a sex offender. His trial is scheduled for Dec. 5 in U.S. District Court in Oxford. He has pleaded not guilty.
The 28-year-old Byrd was required to register as a sex offender because of a 2010 conviction in Florida for touching of a child or a mentally defective, incapacitated or physically helpless person for lustful purposes.
Fair attracts record 694,221
The Mississippi State Fair officially exceeded last year’s total visitors by more than 20,000 people, setting a new attendance record for the fall staple. Billy Orr, executive director of the Fair Commission, tells The Clarion-Ledger at final count 694,221 people came to eat the food, see the sights, and ride the rides at one of the state’s largest annual events. Last year brought out 673,098.
Organizers said the agreeable weather with the exception of shower’s
Wednesday evening was a large part of the success of the fair, which ran Oct. 5 through Sunday.
Orr said another major help came from the fact that Oct. 10 was Columbus Day, and all the children were out of school.
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