William Jeffrey Night was sentenced to 95 years in prison, a day-for-day sentence.
According to District Attorney Lin Carter, they prosecuted Knight for one count of Exploitation of a Child, one count of Exploitation of a Child, and one count of Touching of a Child for Lustful Purposes.
The trial lasted two days and consisted of testimony from the minor victim, her mother, members of the Petal Police Department, and a digital forensic expert.
On October 12, Knight was found guilty on all three counts. Knight served over 20 years in law enforcement at local police agencies and was serving as an MDOC officer at the time of his arrest.
District Attorney Lin Carter said,
“I would like to recognize Lt. Sammy Ray of the Petal Police Department and Special Agent in Charge Wayne Cantrell from the Mississippi Digital Forensic Laboratory in assisting on this case. I would also like to thank Assistant District Attorneys Becky Denham and James Lane for their hard work securing these convictions at trial. No one is above the law. Hopefully this verdict and sentence will help our victims feel that they received Justice.”
