Lindsey Whiteside, DeSoto County, Mississippi youth pastor avoids jail after admitting sexual battery of teen girl during church trips as DA now insists on school board member resigning over their support of sexual predator.
A Mississippi community has expressed outrage after a female youth minister at a Hernando area church who admitted to the sexual battery of a teenage girl who attended her church avoiding jail time.
Lindsey Whiteside‘s case first came to light in November 2024. On Monday, the former youth pastor for Getwell Church in Hernando pleaded guilty to a single count of sexual battery, a charge that could have sent the church worker up to 30 years in prison.
What if the genders were reversed, would the ex youth pastor have received leniency?
But Whiteside left the DeSoto County Courthouse sentenced to a decade of supervised release, beginning with three years of house arrest, virtually the complete opposite of the sentence sought by DeSoto County District Attorney Matthew Barton. A result that has since led to the community’s outrage, FOX13 reports.
‘We, the State of Mississippi, and frankly, I am extremely disappointed,’ Barton said. ‘The sentence ended up being three years of house arrest, followed by seven years of post-release supervision, for a total of ten years of supervision. This sentence is an absolute abomination of justice. It is not right; it is everything that’s wrong. This is why people actually question whether our institutions actually serve people.’
Whiteside’s victim was nearly 17-year-old at the time of the sexual battery, which by the former youth pastor’s own admission occurred multiple times, though she only faced a single count after admitting to violating the teen girl during church trips.
Educators and sitting school board member offered support to sexual predator minister
Those crimes occurred while the victim was being mentored and counseled by Whiteside, in her role of trust within the church the victim was attending.
The victim’s family was outraged Whiteside didn’t receive any prison time. Pam Pegram, a member of that family, spoke on behalf of the victim and her family following the sentencing.
‘Let me be clear: no adult should ever engage in sexual contact with a child. In no way, shape, or form is the victim ever at fault,’ Pegram said. ‘This adult could at any time have said, ‘Mom, help me; pastor, help me; friend, help me.’ She never did. She plotted and she planned, she deceived and she manipulated so that she could have her way.’
But there was more outrage and controversy
Leading into the case, educators along with a sitting school board member offered letters and even testimony in support for Whiteside, which the DA claims was detrimental for the victim.
DeSoto County DA demands resignation of school board member
‘It is true that when you support the abuser, you victimize the victim, and for that, that’s part of the reason that I was so disturbed by the amount of pedophile sympathizers that wrote into the court, and specifically Michelle Henley is an elected member of our school board,’ Barton said. ‘Our victim at the time was a student at one of the schools that Michelle Henley is supposed to help govern. And yet she wrote a letter in support of the defendant; she testified on behalf of the defendant’s good character. Which I submit: there is no good character to someone that would sexually abuse a child.’
Perhaps aware that the sentencing was going to be controversial, the judge prior to handing down the sentence, warned no one was going to be happy with the decision.
In addition to the ten years of supervised release, Whiteside will also have to register as a child sex offender for the rest of her life. She will face jail time if she violates any of the terms and conditions of her house arrest.
In the hours after the sentencing, Barton took to social media where the DA demanded the ouster of the school board member who had supported Whiteside.
Posted the DA in part: ‘I hate to be the one to wake you up to this fact, but it is good versus evil out there and lines in the sand must be drawn. There is no place for those who harbor child predators within our schools or churches. That is why Michele Henley, an elected member of the DeSoto County School Board, must resign following her unapologetic support in court for Lindsey Whiteside – a known child predator and convicted sex offender.’
‘When people in prominent positions like Michele Henley, a vice principal, teachers, and church members write letters to the judge, it creates a safety net for the sentencing judge to deviate from every acceptable measure of justice. If you are wondering why a judge would feel comfortable giving house arrest to a predator, when the victim and State were requesting the maximum sentence (as I would have likewise done for a male offender, or a Memphis criminal), then you can look no further than people like Michele Henley.’
