Jemison man found guilty of child sex abuse crime

Published 2:21 pm Wednesday, November 18, 2015

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A Chilton County jury found a Jemison man guilty on Tuesday of sex abuse of a child less than 12.

Jessie Bispham, 34, who lists an address off County Road 163 in Jemison, was found guilty by a jury after just 45 minutes of deliberations, according to a press release from the 19th Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office.

Bispham was arrested in 2013, and his victim was 4 years old at the time the abuse occurred, according to the release.

The case was presented before Chilton County Circuit Judge Ben A. Fuller.

Fuller filed an order Wednesday morning scheduling Bispham’s sentencing for Dec. 18 at 9 a.m.

A state probation office will prepare and file a presentence report prior to the sentencing hearing, according to Fuller’s order.

Bispham will remain in the Chilton County Jail without bond, pending further order of the court, according to court records.

“Child sex abuse cases are among the most difficult and most important cases we try as prosecutors,” District Attorney for the 19th Circuit Randall Houston said in a release. “This child was 4 years old when this crime occurred and was only 8 when we tried the case this week. Thankfully, we had the expertise of professionals from Butterfly Bridge Children’s Advocacy Center there to testify about the abuse and assist the jury in their decision making process. Hopefully, as a result of this conviction this defendant will be incarcerated for a long time and not have access to any other child victims. Protecting children and their innocence is among our most important responsibilities as prosecutors.”