The second suspect in a 2016 sexual battery case will appear in Oktibbeha County Circuit Court today at 9 a.m.
Suspect Jerry Talley, 29, of McCool, was arrested in May 2016 after witnesses claim he and already convicted 44-year-old Terry Hill of West Point entered a college student's home, where they beat one student and sexually assaulted another.
Talley will be facing charges of robbery, kidnapping, aggravated assault, sexual battery and rape.
Talley's case, which was initially scheduled to go to trial in August 2017, was rescheduled after his attorney Benjamin Lang said a conflict had arisen, which restricted his ability to effectively represent Talley.
Attorney Donna Smith, of Columbus, will represent Talley moving forward, while Assistant District Attorney Trina Davidson-Brooks will represent the victims.
Judge Lee Coleman will preside over the case.
Hill, who was involved in the case, was sentenced to a total of 105 years in prison after being found guilty on all counts with his involvement in a 2016 kidnapping, robbery and sexual battery in Starkville’s Cotton District.
Coleman said Hill is required to to serve the maximum sentence of each count because he is a habitual offender.