Press Release
The Office of the State Attorney Glenn Hess announces that on June 25, 2019, Willie F. Oqin was found guilty as charged by a Jackson County jury of Sexual Battery upon a Child by a Person in Familial or Custodial Authority and Impregnation of a Child.
The State presented evidence that the defendant was a live-in boyfriend of the victim’s mother and had helped raised the victim since she was approximately 3 years old. The child victim testified that she began being sexually abused by the defendant when she was 13 years old. At the age of 14, the victim became pregnant and gave birth to a baby. DNA tests subsequently revealed that the defendant was the biological father of the victim’s baby.
This case was investigated by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Shalla Phelps Jefcoat and Laura Parish. Sentencing is scheduled for July 19, 2019 before the Honorable James J. Goodman, Jr. The defendant faces a sentence of up to Life in prison.
For additional information, contact Chief Assistant State Attorney Larry Basford.