Mississippi child rapist who impregnated his step-daughter and faked suicide sentenced to 85 years
JACKSON COUNTY, MISSOURI: A Mississippi man has been sentenced to 85 years in prison after faking his own suicide to escape criminal charges for child rape. 44-year-old Jacob Blair Scott, was found guilty of one count of child exploitation, four counts of touching a child for lustful purposes, and nine counts of sexual battery.
Saying Scott will essentially be serving a life sentence, Jackson County Circuit Judge Kathy King Jackson sentenced him to 85 years in prison, along with $10,000 in fines. "The evidence is overwhelming," Jackson said. "It’s more evidence than I’ve probably ever seen."
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Who is Jacob Scott?
Jacob Blair Scott, of Moss Point, was accused and convicted of sexually assaulting a girl and impregnating her when he was 40 and she was 14. A military veteran, Scott was awarded a Purple Heart in 2011 for injuries he received while he was deployed in Iraq.
Scott was supposed to turn himself in to face charges for the minor's assault. However, in 2018, he faked his suicide by leaving a small boat with a gun, along with a suicide note, in Orange Beach, Alabama. The note said, "If you find this, contact Melody Scott. My name is Jacob Scott, Jackson County. I'm sorry." Authorities searched for his body for more than a week in the Gulf of Mexico but found little evidence of suicide. He was caught in early 2020 at an RV park in Oklahoma, living under someone else's name.
District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath described Scott's crime as “brazen and so vile.” “This is the first time in my 18 years I have ever seen anything so brazen and so vile,” McIlrath said. “This is about blaming the 14-year-old. This whole trial was about humiliating the 14-year-old who had no choice.”
The victim cried while testifying in court, accusing Scott of assaulting her at least 30 times beginning in 2016. In 2017, she learned that she was pregnant and claimed that she had even given birth to a baby.
During the trial, Scott said that at the time the crimes were committed, he was suffering from mental issues such as post-traumatic stress. He reportedly pleaded with Jackson to take his mental health into consideration. He claimed that he was suffering from depression and was heavily medicated. He also said his judgement was clouded at the time of the crime because he was apparently dealing with relationship issues. "I was a good man," Scott said. "This ain’t who I am."
While handing down the sentence, McIlrath said she did not believe Scott. The judge called Scott’s defense a "hail Mary" tactic in an attempt to get leniency.