Ex-Biloxi official Cliff Kirkland back in court for molestation case involving 3 girls
Former Biloxi city official Fredrick Cliff Kirkland went to court Tuesday for the first time since his indictment on 9 felony charges accusing him of molesting three minor girls.
The 68-year-old masked Kirkland had someone with him in Circuit Court who sat beside him until Judge Larry Bourgeois called up his case on the the court docket.
The appearance had been set for a status update to determine where Kirkland stands as far as having an attorney of record to represent him in his criminal case.
Attorney Keith Pisarich stood in on behalf of Kirkland, but said he is not Kirkland’s attorney of record — though that could change.
Kirkland told the judge he is in the process of “trying to work that out.”
Judge Bourgeois ordered Kirkland to return to court Feb. 22 with the attorney who will represent him in his criminal case.
Kirkland has been free on a $100,000 bond since the day after his initial arrest on Dec. 17, 2019, on two counts of touching of a child for lustful purposes. A Harrison County grand jury later indicted him on seven additional counts.
Kirkland is accused of molesting three minor girls at his home on Thomas Street at different times between Aug. 1, 2013, and July 31, 2017.
His initial arrest in 2019 came four days after a Mississippi Coast school supervisor reported that a minor girl had confided that Kirkland had been molesting her since the time she was in fifth grade until she was high school senior.
Biloxi police made the arrest after authorities conducted forensic interviews with all three alleged victims at the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office, according to affidavits filed in the case.
After his initial arrest, Kirkland relayed a message to the community that he looked forward to defending himself “in the proper forum.”
The allegations
Charging documents alleged Kirkland repeatedly molested one of the alleged minor victims at different times in an upstairs room at his Biloxi home.
A second teen told investigators that she pretended to be sleeping when Kirkland touched her inappropriately.
A third teen told investigators that Kirkland had repeatedly molested her, saying, for example, that on one such occasion she woke up at Kirkland’s home to find him lying right beside her and touching her sexually.
Ex-Biloxi city official resigned after arrest
Kirkland started working as part of Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich’s transition team in May 2015 following his election.
The mayor later hired Kirkland to fill a newly created position as Chief Civic Innovation and Development Director in Biloxi at an annual salary of $96,000. His salary increased after that.
In the aftermath of Kirkland’s arrest, Gilich called the charges against Kirkland “shocking” and told the community the man he had called a friend for over 30 years would not receive “any special treatment” in his criminal case.
Kirkland resigned shortly after his arrest.
The Sun Herald does not identify alleged victims of sex crimes.
This story was originally published January 19, 2021 at 11:05 AM.
