Ex-Hertford Councilor Jackson sentenced to minimum 23-year prison term

EDENTON — Former Hertford Town Councilor Quentin Sherard Jackson was sentenced Monday to serve a minimum of 23 years in prison following his guilty plea to having sex with a minor and six other charges.

Jackson, 39, was sentenced by Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Marvin Blount III of Pitt County in Chowan Superior Court to a minimum active prison term of 276 months and a maximum term of 392 months, District Attorney Jeff Cruden said in a press release.

Jackson pleaded guilty on July 15 to one count of statutory rape, two counts of statutory sexual offense, two counts of sexual exploitation and two counts of taking indecent liberties with a minor. Jackson's sentencing was delayed until Monday at his request, Cruden said.

According to Cruden, Blount consolidated the seven counts against Jackson into one judgment and the sentence he imposed was the "maximum allowed" for the crimes Jackson was charged with and considering his prior criminal record.

"Anyone that has worked in the criminal justice system will tell you, sex offense cases are the hardest to prosecute," Cruden said. "Thankfully, the victim and her mother were strong and stayed true to the end."

According to Cruden, the victim was 15 and Jackson was 36 when the crimes he pleaded guilty to were committed between May 24 and June 3 of 2022.

Jackson knew the victim "because he had dated the victim’s mother for several years prior to these events," Cruden said.

In the weeks leading up to his sentencing, Jackson tried to discredit both the victim's account of what he had done as well as the evidence against him, Cruden said.

"But at the end of the day the victim’s statement, coupled with the defendant’s DNA that was recovered from ... the victim’s underwear and shorts, along with photographs and videos taken by the defendant and recovered from his phone depicting several of the sex acts committed ... were compelling enough to cause the defendant to plead guilty and convince the court to sentence the defendant to the maximum allowed under the law,” Cruden said.

Jackson was a town councilor in Hertford from 2017 to 2021, serving as mayor pro tem for the first two years of his term. He lost bids for mayor in both 2019 and 2021. He also finished sixth in a six-candidate race in November 2022 for three open seats on the Perquimans Board of Commissioners.