Greenville, MS – District Attorney W. Dewayne Richardson announced this week that Jaime Albert pled guilty Tuesday, April 6th, in Washington County Circuit Court to the charges of sexual battery and fondling involving a minor victim.
With the case set for trial before Judge Ashley Hines, Albert chose instead to plead guilty to the charges brought against him. The plea occurred after a jury was selected, but before testimony in the case had begun. Albert was sentenced to 20 years with the Mississippi Department of Corrections, with 6 of those years to be served day-for-day behind bars and the remainder of the time on post-release supervision. Albert’s plea requires that he be registered as a convicted sex offender for the rest of his life.
In 2019, the charges against Albert were logged with the Greenville Police Department after the minor child courageously came forward to report the crime that Albert committed. The incidents which gave rise to the charges occurred sometime between 2015 and 2016 in Greenville.
The case against Albert was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney M. Austin Frye, who expressed his appreciation towards the citizens of Washington County who showed up en masse for jury service this week. Frye stated: “Ever since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, people have been naturally hesitant to show up and serve on juries, which has made it more difficult to secure justice for our victims. With the rise in vaccination numbers and the accommodations made by the County for jury trials aimed to limit any potential exposure to jury members, we are thankfully seeing an increase in jurors reporting for service and, in turn, we are able to keep the trial docket moving and Washington County safer.”