26-Year-Old Sentenced to 45-Years in prison for Sexual Abuse of Child

Rankin County, MS - Madison and Rankin Counties’ District Attorney Bubba Bramlett announced that James Matthew Gardner, 26, was sentenced to forty-five (45) years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections for sexual abuse of a child. 

In April 2025, a Rankin County jury found Gardner guilty of Statutory Rape and Gratification of Lust of a child. Gardner was sentenced to the maximum on each charge, with those sentences to be served consecutively. Gardner will serve every day of the 45 years in prison, without the possibly of parole or early release. 

On September 19, 2023, the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department received a call to a home regarding a juvenile sexual assault victim. It was reported that the abuse took place at the victim’s residence. The victim disclosed that Gardner was living at the home during the years of sexual abuse. 

The victim and a sibling were interviewed by the Parker’s Children’s Advocacy Center in Pearl, Mississippi. The victim received a medical exam at the Children’s Safe Center in Jackson, Mississippi. Law enforcement interviewed the defendant and others, executed search warrants for electronics, the defendant's home, and the defendant’s vehicle, and took photographs. Additionally, law enforcement retrieved physical evidence from the house that the victim shared with the defendant. The physical evidence was sent to the Mississippi Forensics Lab for processing and testing. 

The jury heard from the victim, the victim’s sibling, two investigators with the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department, a nurse practitioner from the Children’s Safe Center who examined the victim, and two forensic scientists with the Mississippi Forensics Lab. Additionally, the defendant testified on his own behalf. 

“The maximum possible sentence is the only appropriate sentence for this pedophile,” stated District Attorney Bubba Bramlett. “We commend the victim and her sibling for their courage in speaking up and taking a stand against this predator. We are also grateful for the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department, the Parker Children’s Advocacy Center, the Children’s Safe Center, and the Mississippi Forensics Lab for working together to protect children in our community.” 

Defendant: 

Name: James Matthew Gardner 

Date of Birth: 01/14/1999 

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