Ex-Biloxi official bought gifts for 3 young girls before molesting them, prosecutors say
Fredrick Cliff Kirkland allegedly groomed three young girls he’s accused of molesting for years at his Biloxi home by buying them things, taking them out to eat and more.
The girls ended up at Kirkland’s blue house on Thomas Street in Biloxi because of a friendship with someone who lived there, Harrison County Assistant District Attorney George Huffman said, and because at least one of the parents had long considered Kirkland a trusted friend. That changed when that parent learned of the alleged molestation.
“The facts of this case, while disturbing, are very straightforward and very clear,” Huffman said. “These young girls are going to come into the courtroom, sit right here and tell you about the abuse they endured at the hands of this defendant.”
Kirkland, 69, is accused of molesting the minors at different times between August 1, 2013, and July 13, 2017.
Huffman’s remarks were made Thursday during opening arguments in the first day of Kirkland’s sex crimes trial, where he faces nine counts of touching of a child for lustful purposes. The trial in Harrison County is before Judge Larry Bourgeois.
Huffman and Assistant District Attorney Alison Baker are prosecuting the case. If convicted by a jury, Kirkland faces a sentence of up to life in prison.
Details of the Biloxi sex crimes case
The three victims were 9, 11 and 13 years old when the alleged molestation began, according to court records.
The crimes occurred at different times over a four-year period ending in July 2017, though the allegations of wrongdoing didn’t surface until years later when one of the three victims confided in a cheer coach about the molestation.
The first victim identified the two other victims, and they all later underwent forensic interviews to determine the validity of the allegations. Biloxi police investigated the case.
Kirkland’s daughter, her husband and their children lived in the Thomas Street home with him, and Kirkland stayed upstairs in a makeshift apartment that included a bedroom, kitchenette, bathroom and an office that had a couch inside that folded out into a bed.
The molestation occurred when the girls stayed the night at the home, Huffman said.
One of the victims, he said, recalled how Kirkland first started out by rubbing her shoulders or giving her a massage before it escalated to the point that Kirkland was putting his hands down her pants and fondling her.
Another victim said she pretended she was asleep when the alleged abuse happened, Huffman said, while another said she picked up her phone and acted like she was calling someone when he started touching her inner thigh area.
Defense: Allegations are ‘simply not true’
Defense Attorney Keith Pisarich defined the allegations the girls had made again Kirkland as ones that are “simply not true.”
He noted that Kirkland had lived in Biloxi all of his life, had held good jobs in the media business, in the gaming industry and in city roles on the Coast.
He said his client had never molested anyone and that his family and friends stood ready to vouch for him as a hard-working man and devoted father, grandfather and friend.
Pisarich also questioned the timing of the allegations against Kirkland and why the three girls spoke in confidence prior to talking to authorities.
“Cliff Kirkland has been a good, caring and loving father to his two children,” Pisarich said. “He has been a good and caring and loving grandfather to all his grandchildren.”
Kirkland’s life had been a successful one, both professionally and personally, Pisarich said, “until one day out of the blue, police personnel of the Biloxi Police Department burst through his door and arrested him.”
He said the stories the victims are telling are “too identical to be true.”
“None of these accusers were forced in any shape or fashion to come to that house,” Pisarich said. “There will be no hard and real evidence such as DNA to corroborate these stories.
“Cliff Kirkland has a good reputation for truth and veracity for the community in which he resides.”
Testimony began after closing arguments when the first of the alleged victims testified. The court was closed to the public during that testimony which continued into the afternoon.
This story was originally published May 12, 2022 at 4:29 PM.
