Shane Coats, the Petal man who last year was arrested on one count of sexual battery of a minor under the age of 14, will serve 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to that charge on August 22 in Forrest County Circuit Court.
Court documents show 12th Circuit Judge Bob Helfrich sentenced Coats to 20 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, with 12 years of that sentence to be served day-for-day, with the remaining time suspended pursuant to terms of a five-year post-release supervision period. During that time, Coats must adhere to several conditions, including but not limited to:
- Registering as a sex offender;
- Possessing no alcohol, mood-altering drugs or firearms;
- Submitting to drug and/or alcohol testing;
- Reporting to a probation officer;
- Working faithfully at suitable employment so far as possible;
- Remaining within the state unless authorized to leave on proper application;
- Remaining within his primary residence between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m. unless required to do otherwise by employment; and
- Having no direct or indirect contact with the victim or any members of the victim’s family.
Coats also must pay a fine of $1,500, a $200 assessment to the Mississippi Crime Victim Compensation Program, restitution in the amount of $250 to the Forrest County Public Defender’s Fund, restitution in the amount of $250 to the Forrest County District Attorney’s Office Investigative Fund and all court costs.
If Coats fails to meet any of the above conditions or fails to pay the fines, he will be remanded back into the custody of the MDOC to serve the remaining years of the 20-year sentence. He was represented during his trial by public defender Kimberly Morrison.
Coats was taken into custody by officers of the Petal Police Department on the morning of May 17, 2022, and was transported to the Forrest County Correctional Facility that afternoon before being brought back to Petal the next morning for his initial appearance.
During that appearance, Petal municipal judge Michael Reed set the bond for Coats at $100,000.
On January 4, a grand jury convened to decide whether to indict, or formally charge, Coats with the sexual battery of a minor charge. After deciding to do so, the jury filed the indictment on January 17 in Forrest County Circuit Court.
The indictment states that Coats, 32, engaged in the activity on one or more occasions between the dates of January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021.
“(Coats) did willfully, purposely, unlawfully and feloniously commit sexual battery on a child … who was at the time in question under the age of 14 years," the indictment reads.
According to Mississippi Code 97-3-95, a person is guilty of sexual battery if he or she engages in sexual penetration with: another person without his or her consent; a mentally defective, mentally incapacitated or physically helpless person; a child at least 14 years of age, if the person is 36 or more months older than the child; or a child under the age of 14, if the person is 24 or more months older than the child.
The crime carries a jail term of up to 40 years.
In May 2022, a “Victims of SHANE COATS” Facebook page was created, on which dozens of individuals have commented about Coats’ alleged crimes against men, women and children. Those allegations include child abuse, rape, theft and public masturbation.
