District Attorney Bubba Bramlett announced today that Keith Montrago Jackson, 46, of Canton was sentenced to life in prison by Circuit Court Judge Dewey Arthur.

A Madison County jury found Jackson to be guilty of Sexual Battery of a child on February 7, 2023. The victim was 12 years old at the time of the assault.

The victim testified that Jackson, her mother’s then-boyfriend, took her to get a snack at Love’s Truck Stop in Canton, then sexually assaulted her in the driveway of their shared home inside his Chevy Blazer. After disclosing the assault to staff at her school the next day, she was taken to Blair E. Batson Children’s Hospital where a sexual assault examination was performed.

Evidence collected during the exam was analyzed by the Mississippi Forensics Lab. Analysts were able to match Jackson’s DNA to samples taken from the victim’s body during the exam. The jury deliberated for ten minutes before reaching a unanimous verdict of guilty.

The life sentence that the Defendant was ordered to serve will be served day for day without the possibility of early release or parole.

“This case highlights the importance of talking to our children about what to do if someone assaults them. This child disclosed to a trusted adult the next day enabling officers to quickly get the child to the hospital for a sexual assault examination,” said Bramlett. “The DNA evidence that was collected during that examination was a key factor in the successful prosecution of this man. I would like to thank the many people who made this guilty verdict possible: law enforcement with the Canton Police Department, the nurses and doctors at Blair E. Batson Children’s Hospital emergency room, the analysts at the MS Forensics Laboratory, and the jurors who showed up to serve for jury duty and convicted Keith Jackson.”