A jury found Rankin County Tax Assessor John Sullivan to be not guilty of indictments for sexual battery and simple assault. WLBT reported:
Rankin County Tax Assessor John Sullivan has been found not guilty on three counts of sexual battery and one count of simple assault.
A grand jury originally indicted Sullivan last year for sexual battery of a physically helpless person; in this case, that was a 19-year-old woman who said she blacked out at his home on March 26, 2022.
Statute defines “physically helpless” as unconscious or unable to give consent. The jurors’ verdict indicates they did not believe that claim.
The jury of one woman and 11 men took just 1 hour and 40 minutes to reach a verdict Thursday.Rest of article.
65 comments:
"The jury of one woman and 11 men took just 1 hour and 40 minutes to reach a verdict Thursday. Were six of them the goon squad?
Welp! Nothing to see here! Hilarious.
A complete and total travesty. The AG's office should be embarrassed and apologize to the victim. The US Attorney should look at any and all options to prosecute any federal crimes.
@3:13 PM
He didn’t cross state lines and he had a security system with videos that showed the “victim” was sober and willing to party.
This is a clear-cut case of seller’s remorse on the fault of the young woman who didn’t think she got a big enough tip for taking the old man’s “tip”
Something stinks in this case.
At least he knew better than to run for re-election. Right Beattle??
Jesus what a joke. Rankin, do better.
Rankin County stack their court full of red necks. You gotta love it.
Except if oyur a black, women, or other minority.
That is one lucky SOB... Do y'all think he will change his ways now?
Not sure why my previous comment was censored.
I will be more vague.
He won because he has surveillance video that showed the party girl wasn’t passed out drunk.
It’s a good cautionary tale to install cameras and record everything because women often lie about getting raped.
Remember the “mattress girl” from Berkeley who got the German guy kicked out of school?
Yeah that’s all too common!
This perse -- er, excuse me -- prosecution smelled off to me from the beginning. When a guy chums money, a school of females will form. After a few have been netted, then they'll flop around saying, "He trapped me!"
The defendant must have been done pissed the wrong Rankin elites off and this was an attempted lawfare takedown.
LeMaster is livid that the judge threw out his "evidence". He desperately wants to be part of the story.
@327 you clearly think what he did was acceptable. I hope you don't have a daughter. What he did should not be tolerated in a civilized society. There was a time when it wasn't. It is abhorrent. If you tolerate it or think that it is acceptable, then you are, as well.
She was 19. He was 52. There is no defense to this.
But when they plead guilty Lynn's Office wins 6, 7 out of 10
He was definitely guilty..of being drunk and really bad judgement.
@4:00 PM
At no point did I say what he did was acceptable.
I merely stated that the girl was lying (he had video and proved it) and he committed no crime worthy of federal prosecution.
Your emotions aren’t an argument.
And if my daughter were a slut (she’s not) then I wouldn’t blame the man for her getting picked up from a bar and going to an old man’s house for (allegedly) paid sex.
They were all drunk!! He's a drunk. He also has a daughter not much older than the alleged victim. Yes, bad judgement, especially for going after the young women. Who knows if he changes his ways. But if he doesn't, he will be in this mess again. If she was drugged why was there no toxicology report. Supposedly the victims rape kit swabs, showed no evidence of his semen. I hope his dumbass will get help.
Y'all need to look at the actual evidence. He may be scumbag, but he's no rapist.
and anyone defending the 19 year old needs to really really look at the evidence.
He won because he hired a damn good attorney
"@327 you clearly think what he did was acceptable. I hope you don't have a daughter. What he did should not be tolerated in a civilized society. There was a time when it wasn't. It is abhorrent. If you tolerate it or think that it is acceptable, then you are, as well.
She was 19. He was 52. There is no defense to this."
I am not 3:27 but I will say that it takes two to tango. I don't know if this guy is guilty of rape or not... but, I know a lot of 19 year old "daughters" who are happy to find a sugar daddy and do what it takes to keep that "bling" coming. Until they get caught and change their story.
Not guilty is not the same as innocent.
@4:00 pm. Apparently there was a defense. And his attorney successfully used it. And 12 jurors agreed that no laws were broken.
Surely helmet head LeMaster is prepared to provide the follow-up reporting on this outcome, right? I mean he dribbled spooge all over his pantaloons while reporting that Sullivan was guilty and should be removed from office. Let's hear from LeMaster now that the jury has said otherwise. What a complete dipshit he is.
He is a disgusting man but if that age range was between two consenting adults, I agree. No crime.
Just a nasty ass old man and young girl who's parents failed her.
What did CJ do?
There are a few Rankin county electeds that are going to be avoiding the hell outta Sullivan! It is very interesting that this trial was after the election…hmm . Sullivan’s heir apparent (who really ran the office for years) lost to the pick of some political opponents. I doubt nothing in my county government anymore ! One more elected official to go before we can move forward!
August 10, 2023 at 4:00 PM
She is an adult and responsible for her actions.
Some y’all pearl-clutchers forget that 16 is the Age of Consent in the Great State of Mississippi!
Rankin is a joke, plain and simple. This is just another fine example of the good ole boy system at work in Rankin.
The jury has spoken.
His innocence is final. However, I would be real interested to look into the transcripts and check out his accuser.
Word is this isn't her first time to cry wolf.
WOW! Some of these comments are spine-chilling.
A 52 year-old man with a 19 year old girl is disgusting; but it’s not rape.
If he’s guilty of rape he should have been convicted of rape.
If he’s not guilty of rape, every single American citizen (especially if they have sons or grandsons) should be thrilled that he was not “found guilty of rape just because he’s a disgusting 52 year old man with a legal 19 year old female.”
This leftist “believe all women” BS is dangerous.
Guess we should be telling our sons and grandsons that if they don’t have written consent or video surveillance filming their every move, just stay away from females.
Women can be overly optimistic and very aggressive, even when not stoned, but this guy is such a skunk-ape, in looks, words, physique, attitude. Now that his willing victim has been publicly spanked, she can straighten up to do better.
@508, only one more to go? Please. Do tell.
Even not guilty on the battery charge and Sullivan himself said he choked her and threw her on the bed.
This case and the Todd Mardis wife beater case are two good reasons not to go east over the Pearl river. Please respond. Also, be careful when you go to and from taking your children to Jackson Prep.
Being a filthy talking dirty old man hanging out with 19 year olds may be despicable, but unless the law has an age range coefficient, then what he did wasn’t against the law. Remember after he got his DUI the girls came back over to his house. I agree, this seems like she/they were setting him up, or embarrassed they got caught. Full disclosure, I’ve been around Sullivan in mixed company and he is a terrible talking filthy dirt bag that I wouldn’t be caught around him close enough to be associated as a friend of his.
Got rid of Swales (reign of arrogance) Tuesday night , next up is the Bailey show! Stay tuned…..
Just go to Pelican Cove on the rez or Shuckers. Papaw on steroids on his 200k boat with young girls paying for everything every summer.
Please, let's not forget this is the "victims" 3rd man to accuse of rape - all of which have been found innocent.
4:48, we broke news of the verdict today minutes after it happened and made sure to let everyone know. You’re saying I would have slow-rolled that information if he was found not guilty, but that’s not what took place. We’ve been covering the trial since Monday.
Give some credit to the outstanding legal team of Merrida Coxwell and Vicki Gilliam. Good luck finding two better lawyers.
Bailey should step down! His lack of leadership and lack of accountability is glaring. Supervisors as well for an unethical appointment of Patrick Bailey as director of the safe room. Good ole boy process to give the sheriff more money! Just clean house. Let’s write in Jake Windham in Nov! Start the write in campaign for sheriff.
So far it seems unanimous that the people who actually know John Sullivan consider him a white-trash lowlife. I'm curious how he kept getting elected.
@721...
What in the hell could a Chancery Clerk do to you that would make you call his time in office a "Reign of Arrogance" LOL thats the dumbest thing ive ever seen. Did you not like the minutes that he kept for the court or the land records? LOL
"Full disclosure, I’ve been around Sullivan in mixed company and he is a terrible talking filthy dirt bag that I wouldn’t be caught around him close enough to be associated as a friend of his."
Then it's mighty strange that you say you've been around him in mixed company.
A man predisposed to talk 'dirty', act arrogantly and drink too much booze...is not automatically guilty of rape, even if the strumpet is 19. Both are adults, regardless of age.
I wonder if he'll show up at the Rankin County Republican Breakfast Club.
why wasn't he taken to jail when stopped, DUI?
So wait a minute - he had (security) cameras filming his hot tub action? Gross.
Hinds County's water will kill you. But Rankin County's water will make you beat and torture African Americans and engage in sexual assault. Rankin County. What a joke. Even the name, Rankin, is the most redneck sounding things I've heard.
No mention of what these girls were wearing in the hot tub. Or am I to believe they each had swimwear in their purses in the bar...just in case.
"Please, let's not forget this is the "victims" 3rd man to accuse of rape - all of which have been found innocent."
Ouououuuu - That sounds so titillating. Worthy of a separate blog thread, indeed. Link?
@10:58 PM
It’s not surprising. The name Rankin is connected with one of the most vehemently Racist and EVIL white males who every lived.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_E._Rankin
John Elliott Rankin (March 29, 1882 – November 26, 1960) was a Democratic politician from Mississippi who served sixteen terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1921 to 1953. He was co-author of the bill for the Tennessee Valley Authority and from 1933 to 1936 he supported the New Deal programs of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, which brought investment and jobs to the South.
Rankin proposed a bill to prohibit interracial marriage and opposed a bill to prohibit state use of the poll tax, which southern states had used since the turn of the century to disenfranchise most blacks and many poor whites. He used his power to support segregation and deny federal benefits programs to African Americans. For instance, in 1944, following the Port Chicago disaster, the U.S. Navy asked Congress to authorize payments of $5,000 to each of the victims' families. But when Rankin learned most of the dead were black sailors, he insisted the amount be reduced to $2,000; Congress settled the amount at $3,000 per family
I don't understand why people are saying "it is disgusting for a 52 yr old man to be with a 19 yr old woman". Age is a number and that is all it is. People are attracted to people for all kinds of reasons. Age has NOTHING to do with it. If a woman is over 18 and willing it is on her. Men like pretty young women. It is in our DNA. God made us this way so we can populate the earth.
Jesus Christ, 6:48, is your dysfunctional mind so warped that you are incapable of speaking truthfully or accurately. In your haste to cut and paste bullshit, you managed to assign naming rights for Rankin County to a guy who was born literally 54 years AFTER Rankin County was founded. To call you a fool brings shame on fools. Rankin County was named after Christopher Rankin, a Pennsylvanian who moved to Mississippi and later served as a congressman.
Next you’ll tell us Hinds County is named after the ketchup
@6:48 -
Rankin County was formed long before 1882. Please try again and read a bit more - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Rankin
Since when does “connected” mean “originated” you illiterate hayseeds?
Literally as long as history has been recorded, there have been significant age differences between married couples, dating couples and sexual partners.
There's nothing untoward about a 50 year old man being attracted to a nineteen year old woman. And there's nothing nasty or prohibitive about the same differential with the sexes reversed.
You Baptists who type with one hand while the other is on your, ah, lap, are what is disgusting. Go back to cruising porn sites.
Ha....6:48am got called out on their bullshit revisionist history and can't just slink away with the retort at 8:53am.
You know damn well that you were saying that the racists in Rankin named their county in honor of a racist.
I am so sick of people like you. You are what is wrong with today's world. You lie and imply untruths and obfuscate the facts to suit your narrative, with the goal of hate and divisiveness in mind. You are no better than the racist.
And further more you twit....we know what "connected" and "originated" mean. You apparently do not, because in no way are the two connected except by you trying to connect them to further your own racist, hate filled narrative. The two Rankins have nothing to do with each other.
Damn I miss Rush Limbaugh. This was a classic example of what he use to refer to as "drive-by journalism."
I have seen many 19 year old hotties date older men. Typically that man is providing something the younger lady seeks. If she is a gold digger, so be it. If he is seeking a pretty trophy, good for him.
As long as both parties feel the relationship provides what they are looking for, I have no issue with it.
I don't personally partake, but I don't begrudge the ones who do. C'est la vie.
Just because some of us won't date men our dad's age doesn't mean it works for everybody. Sometimes it's just a bartering system. One is dating for money, and the other is dating for pleasure. That age difference won't become noticable until you realize you're 40 years old and your mate is 70 and having to take those little blue pills.
@11:15 & 11:26 AM
Work on your reading comprehension.
Get some help. It’s all in your head.
12:37: I suggest you stick with dating high school/college boys. There's nothing wrong with age-based relationships. Enjoy your Instagram life.
Those of us who are, shall we say, more seasoned, connect on other levels. Some are shallow and/or material, and some are most definitely not.
As for John Sullivan, he appears to be a drunken child who refuses to grown up in every way, except when it comes to collecting a government paycheck.
To some others: Shall we talk about the origins of the name for Forrest County?
P.S. I don't miss Rush at all.
12:37. What's wrong with those little blue pills when they work?
I'll bet your chances probably improve after a couple of tequilas. Both can be encouragements.
3:37, A 17 year old mind in a 50 year old body is just plain gross. I suspect that’s what 12:37 and others were talking about.
How does everybody feel about ole John Sullivan now? He’s stealing tax payer’s money to pay his brother along with top law enforcement officers. That money goes deep. He plays politics to get out of trouble and do whatever he wants. I’m amazed that anyone would defend him. He may be able to use money to get out of trouble here on Earth, but none of that will matter when he meets his maker.
Victim shaming is disgusting. The victim was offered money to drop the case but didn’t take it. Kinda makes those comments about her doing all this for money seem a little less likely.
The AG’s office should be ashamed and look into what happened with this case!
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