JOSEPH WESTMORELAND PRESS RELEASE

February 18, 2026

District Attorney Daniella Shorter Levy announces the conviction of JOSEPH WESTMORELAND.

On February 17, 2026, Joseph Westmoreland appeared before the Honorable Judge Tomika H. Irving in Copiah County Circuit Court and pled guilty to 3 counts of Statutory Rape and 3 counts of Sexual Battery.

Judge Irving sentenced Defendant Westmoreland to Twenty-Five (25) years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC), Five (5) years suspended, with Twenty (20) years to serve. Upon release, Defendant Westmoreland will serve Five (5) years of supervised probation.

Westmoreland is also required to pay court costs of Four Hundred and Twenty-Seven Dollars and Fifty Cents ($427.50) and a bond fee as ordered by the Court; One Hundred and Fifty Dollars ($100.00) to the Crime Victim’s Compensation Fund.

April 1, 2025, the Crystal Springs Police Department received reports from Mississippi Bureau of Investigation that Three (3) Rossville, GA minors reported repeated and systemic sexual abuse while living in Crystal Springs, MS. After forensic interviews with the minors and further investigation into the victim’s allegations, charges were filed against Westmoreland and Sheena Johnson, Westmoreland’s sister. Defendant Johnson was charged with 3 counts of Child Neglect.

“The greatness of a society can be determined by how it treats its weakest and most innocent. While our office cannot wipe away the pain of what happened to these children, we can seek the justice they deserve”-District Attorney, Daniella Shorter Levy

JOSEPH WESTMORELAND