Judge rules in case of sheriff’s candidate accused of assault at South MS store
A special judge Friday found a former Hancock County sheriff’s deputy running for sheriff not guilty on two counts of misdemeanor assault for allegedly threatening a former teacher in the Bay-Waveland School District.
Judge Desmond Hoda issued the ruling after a trial Friday in the simple assault case against former Deputy Channing Reynolds.
His accusers, former Bay-Waveland School Teacher Alfredo ‘Freddy” Childs and his husband, Roman Child, signed the affidavits accusing Reynolds of the assault.
Attorney Damian Holcomb prosecuted the case at Waveland Municipal Court.
“Today I was found not guilty on both charges,” Reynolds said after the verdict. “The facts were heard, and the truth came out. I appreciate everyone who stood behind me and saw this for what it was. That support meant more than you know.
“I will always stand up for the children in this community.”
Former teacher, husband testify
According to the affidavits filed in the case, the former teacher at North Bay Elementary, Freddy Childs, and his husband, Roman Childs, alleged that Reynolds assaulted them during a June 22 run-in at Harbor Freight on U.S. 90 in Waveland.
Freddy Childs told police he was at the register when Reynolds began yelling at him, allegedly accusing him of being a pedophile and threatening to “beat his (expletive),” and “find him later,” in addition to making other threats.
Roman Childs testified first at the trial, saying he and his husband were at the register in the store when Channing Reynolds walked inside.
He said Freddy Childs said hello to Reynolds, then the former deputy walked around the register and started acting “aggressive.”
However, he never testified that Reynolds threatened “to beat his (expetive),” or “find him later.”
In his testimony, Roman Childs said Channing Reynolds started asking him why he was still married to Freddy Childs, alleging that the former teacher liked to kiss young boys and was a pedophile.
Reynolds said he knew one of the alleged child victims.
Roman Childs said that after the encounter, he told Reynolds basically just to back off. He also added that a criminal investigation concluded that Freddy Childs never committed any crime.
Instead of what had been written up in the affidavit, Roman Childs said that Reynolds “said something about the parking lot, and we should be glad that he’s a changed man.”
Roman Childs described the entire encounter as “very threatening.”
“He mentioned going out the parking lot several times,” Roman Childs said.
Childs and his husband, however, waited a couple of hours to file the simple assault charges after consulting with others, including someone in law enforcement.
On cross-examination, Reynolds’ attorney, Daniel Wade, said, “So, it’s my understanding Channing is telling you I’m not going to do what I would have done in the past. Is that a fair statement?”
Roman Childs agreed with the statement.
In additional testimony from Freddy Childs, he talked about how Channing Reynolds had been cordial to him in the past since he stopped teaching and was polite so he didn’t expect the encounter at the store.
In other testimony, Freddy Childs admitted that he was the first to say hello to Reynolds when he walked into the store, adding that Reynolds then asked him if he was the teacher who used to work in the Bay-Waveland School District.
After he confirmed the information, he reiterated his husband’s claims that Reynolds called him a pedophile and that he and his husband just wanted to get away from him.
In additional testimony, Channing Reynolds testified in his own defense, admitting he spoke to the two men and called Freddy Childs a “pedophile” but said he never threatened to assault or fight with either men as a result of the confrontation.
The prosecutors argued that Reynolds had put the two men in fear of harm, describing Mr. Reynolds’ actions as “aggressive” and “threatening.”
But Reynold’s attorney effectively shot down those claims, saying three was not a clear threat to harm to either men.
After the two parties rested, Judge Desmond Hoda found Reynolds not guilty of two counts of simple assault, saying there was no proof beyond a reasonable doubt in testimony to convict Reynolds on either charge.
Educator misconduct
Though Alfredo Roman “Freddy” Childs has not been charged with a crime, records obtained by the Sun Herald from the Mississippi Department of Education’s Office of Educator Misconduct show his teaching license was recently revoked for five years.
The revocation followed a report from the Bay-Waveland School District on May 16, 2024, alleging Childs violated the Mississippi Educator Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct.
According to the records, Childs violated state provisions requiring educators to maintain a professional educator/student relationship by “soliciting, encouraging, participating in or initiating inappropriate written, verbal, electronic, physical or romantic relationships with students.”
The final revocation order was signed March 17, 2025, the records show. Childs can reapply for a teacher’s license after the five-year period under an agreement with the Board of Education.
On Friday, Freddy Childs said he voluntarily surrendered his teaching license and that he never intended to teach again.
