A child has been rescued from the care of a 56-year-old man in Southaven who was arrested for sexual battery and producing child pornography.
Attorney General Jim Hood stated that Rudolph Lurding was arrested last Friday in Southaven on a warrant out of Louisiana, which is where the alleged crimes occurred.
He was charged with three felony counts of production of pornography involving a juvenile under the age of 13 and three felony counts of sexual battery under the age of 13. An investigation into a previous, unrelated case of child pornography led investigators to Lurding. Lurding had recently moved to Mississippi from Louisiana.
The child is safe, but the child’s connection to Lurding was not specified. Lurding was booked into the DeSoto County Adult Detention Center before being extradited to Louisiana.
He had an initial appearance in court where his bond was set at $250,000.
If convicted, Lurding faces a sentence of up to 372 years. Each sexual battery charge carries 25 years, and each production charge carries 25-99 years under Louisiana law.
Assisting agencies in this case include the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office, Harrison County Sheriff’s Office, Gulfport Police Department, Southaven Police Department, DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office, and FBI Child Exploitation Task Force.
