Coast girl woke up to her mom’s boyfriend taking off her clothes. She was 12.
A jury deliberated for about two hours before finding a Biloxi man guilty of sex crimes against his former girlfriend’s daughter in 2017.
Arland Morris, 42, was convicted of two counts of touching a child for lustful purposes this week in Harrison County Circuit Court.
Morris, who is from Jamaica, was dating the victim’s mother at the time of the crime.
The victim testified in court that she was woken in the middle of the night in summer 2017 by Morris removing her clothes. Morris then assaulted her, according to testimony. The victim was 12 years old at the time.
“The child testified that was she was crying, scared, and ran to her bedroom and locked the door until her mother returned home,” said Assistant District Attorney Patti Simpson, who prosecuted this case with Jasmine Magee on behalf of the DA’s office.
The defense argued that the child was angry at Morris because the defendant’s relationship with the mother dissolved, according to a release from the DA’s office.
The jury, however, also heard testimony from a forensic interview at the South Mississippi Child Advocacy Center and watched a video of the interview that was recorded after the crime took place.
Circuit Court Judge Roger Clark set sentencing for Tuesday, March 10.
