Man who sexually abused MS Coast 12-year-old sentenced to decades in prison with no parole
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the age of the girl in a headline.
A Meridian man was sentenced to 50 years in state prison after a Harrison County jury found him guilty in the sexual abuse of a 12-year-old girl in South Mississippi.
Gary Raymon Rush, 35, was sentenced this week by Circuit Court Judge Randi Mueller on the charges of sexual battery and two counts of touching of a child for lustful purposes.
He will serve his sentence day-for-day, without the possibility of parole or early release.
The jury deliberated for 1 1/2 hours in April before convicting him, the district attorney’s office said in a press release. The sentencing was deferred until this week.
During the sentencing hearing the judge heard evidence that Rush previously pled guilty to a charge of attempted rape in Lauderdale County.
The case began in July 2019 when D’Iberville police responded to a home on Quail Creek Circle at about 3:05 a.m. A family member said she found Rush in the 12-year-old victim’s bedroom, with the lights off and door closed, according to the release.
The woman testified she hit Rush with a lamp, chased him from the home and called 911.
Trial testimony revealed the sexual abuse had started two weeks before, the release said.
Rush and his wife had been living with the family in D’Iberville, the release said.
Rush waited until night to enter the victim’s bedroom and sexually abuse her, the girl testified. He warned her against telling anyone, the release said, because “no one would believe her.”
The two-day trial featured testimony from the victim, her family members, an officer who responded to the home and a nurse who treated the victim for sexual abuse, the release said.
Rush will be sentenced in May.
“The Victim showed amazing courage in participating with the investigation and telling the Jury what this Defendant did to her,” District Attorney Crosby Parker said in the release.
“The prompt response and investigation by the D’Iberville Police Department and the services provided by the Child Advocacy Center led to this Defendant being held accountable for these acts. We hope the justice delivered this week helps the Victim in her healing,” Parker said.
