Callias pleas to one count, arrested days later on more
Published 7:00 am Saturday, August 11, 2018
- Callias
Dusty Callias, the local man who has been repeatedly arrested for the sexual battery of minors, pleaded guilty on Monday to one charge lodged against him in 2015 and was arrested yet again on Friday for more crimes.
Callias pleaded guilty on Monday in Circuit Court to one of the 2015 charges that he sexually assaulted two minors. Previous coverage states those victims were 14 at the time,
While out on bond for those charges, Callias, 43 of 720 Liberty Road, was arrested again on July 16 after a month long investigation gathered enough evidence to corroborate allegations that he sexually assaulted another victim in 2015, previous coverage states. He was not given a bond for that arrest.
Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department Chief Investigator Marc Ogden said that on Wednesday, another mother and her child went to the Sheriff’s Department to make a complaint that Callias had sexually assaulted the child. A forensic interview conducted on Thursday provided enough evidence to lead Callias to being arrested on Friday for sexual battery and lustful touching of a child younger than 14.
He was also arrested on Friday for one count of embezzlement. Ogden said that arrest stemmed from a complaint made on Aug. 3 by his previous employer that he had stolen more than $45,000 from her business.
Ogden said the investigation is ongoing, and there is the possibility Callias could face additional charges out of Hancock County.
Callias has been before Justice Court Judge John Mark Mitchell for the most recent arrests, and was denied bond, Ogden said.
Fifteenth District Attorney Hal Kittrell said that all of the charges against Callais from 2015 were rolled into one plea, which could carry a prison sentence of up to 30 years. He will be sentenced on Aug. 20.
Kittrell said the plea did not involve Callias’ most recent arrests.