For Immediate Release                                
January 15, 2009                    
For more information, please contact
Michael Guest at (601) 825-1472

Canton Man Receives a 35 Year Sentence for Statutory Rape

Madison and Rankin Counties’ District Attorney Michael Guest announced today that Gregory D. Plummer of Canton received a 35-year sentence for statutory rape through a plea arrangement.  Ten years of his sentence will be suspended.  Plummer will be required to spend 25 years in prison without the possibility of parole and will have to register as a sex offender upon his release from the Mississippi Department of Corrections.  He will be 70 years old when he is released from prison.

In September 2005, Plummer began having sex with the victim who was 12 years old at the time. That sexual abuse continued until early 2008 when this crime was reported to law enforcement.  During the period of sexual abuse, Plummer fathered two children with the victim.  

The Madison County Sheriff’s Department was contacted in February 2008 and a warrant was issued for Plummer’s arrest.  Their investigation determined that the victim had been raped numerous times by Plummer since 2005 and DNA testing confirmed that Plummer had fathered two children with the victim.  Plummer later admitted to having sex with the victim on at least one occasion. 
           
Guest stated, “My office has made prosecuting crimes against children a priority and we will not back away from our commitment to prosecuting those who prey upon our children.  Plummer was able to victimize this child for years before she had the courage to come forward, and now her assailant will be an old man before he will be released from prison.”

Guest added, “The Madison County criminal justice system has been successful in removing Plummer from our streets and placing him in jail for decades.  However, by the time we’re involved, the damage to the victim has already been done.   Plummer and others like him are another example of why, we as parents and a community must be ever vigilant in the protection of our children.”

District Attorney Michael Guest was sworn into office in January 2008 and represents the Twentieth Judicial District, Madison and Rankin Counties.