Two men who were previously given life sentences after being convicted of failing to register as sex offenders in separate cases have had their convictions upheld by the Mississippi Court of Appeals.
According to a press release from the 15th District Attorney’s office, Donald Allen Caves of Carriere and Donald Williams Jr. of Picayune were each tried and convicted in the 15th District Circuit Court in separate cases that involved charges of failing to register a sex offender.
Caves was convicted after a jury of his peers found him guilty of the charge after he failed to register a change of address when he moved to a new location within the county, previous Item coverage of the case states.
That previous coverage states Caves was convicted of child molestation in January of 1990, accessory after the fact to automobile burglary in October of 1997 and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon in January of 2005, all of which occurred in Pearl River County.
According to an indictment filed in the Pearl River County Circuit Court, Williams was charged with the crime after he did not register his change of address with the Department of Public Safety Driver’s License Station on July 26 in 2012. The indictment states he was convicted of criminal sexual conduct third degree in March of 1995 for an offense that occurred in Ramsey County, Minnesota.
The district attorney’s office filed for a motion to have Williams and Caves charged as habitual offenders, leading to their life sentences when first convicted and sentenced.
“We trust the public can see from these two trials and convictions that we are committed to removing from our communities sex offenders who violate the law,” said 15th District Attorney Hal Kittrell. “These two sex offenders will spend the rest of their lives in prison.”