DESOTO COUNTY. - The superintendent of DeSoto County Schools issued a statement after employees showed support for a convicted child abuser.

Lindsey Whiteside, a former Mississippi youth pastor, pleaded guilty to a single count of sexual battery and was sentenced to 10 years of supervised release, beginning with three years of house arrest followed by seven years of post-release supervision.

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Whiteside admitted to having inappropriate relations with the victim, who was nearly 17-years-old at the time of the sexual battery.

Fellow community members, some employed by the DeSoto County Schools system, showed support for Whiteside by writing letters to the judge.

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