JEFFERSON DAVIS COUNTY, Miss. ( WHLT ) – District Attorney Hal Kittrell announced two men pled guilty in connection to the kidnapping and rape of a two-year-old.

On Friday, August 2, 2024, Keldrick Magee, 35, of Bassfield, and Kim Lodge, 64, of Seminary, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping, kidnapping, tampering with evidence, sexual battery and forcible rape in the Jefferson Davis County Circuit Court.

Investigators said they received a report about a missing two-year-old boy from an apartment complex in Bassfield on December 30, 2021, which led to a multi-agency search for the child.

Fifteen hours later and 15 miles away from where he was originally taken, the child was found abandoned and naked in Sumrall on the side of the road. The child was taken to Forrest General Hospital where medical personnel noticed injuries indicating sexual abuse.

Officials said the boy was transported to the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) in Jackson for further evaluation and treatment.

During their investigation, authorities identified Magee as the last known person to have been with the child when he was taken. They were able to track Magee to a home in Seminary.

Both Magee and Lodge were arrested inside the home on January 5, 2022. Investigators said the two were attempting to flee the state.

Prosecutors said Lodge had been in a relationship with Magee and later confessed to the charges.

“This case is the nightmare of every person. To have a baby taken and abused in the way these defendants abused this two-year old is horrific. That the child lived and healed from these brutal crimes is a miracle. That he is now a normal, happy child is a miracle. There are no words to adequately describe the defendants in this case. In the same vein, there is no penalty under the law that they can receive that adequately punishes them for their vile crimes. However, we have ensured that they do not walk in the light of day again,” said Kittrell. “Their sentences, which equate to a day less than their individual life expectancies, begin to provide justice for not only the community, but for the victim in this case.”

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