SOUTHAVEN, Miss. — A former alderman from Mississippi’s third-largest city plans to plead guilty to a federal charge that he transported child pornography.
Court records show Ronnie Hale of Southaven is scheduled to plead guilty Monday in Aberdeen. Hale faces five to 20 years in prison and fines up to $250,000 if convicted.
Hale resigned his elected office after his December indictment on charges that he carried computer files with “visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct” across state lines from Tennessee into Mississippi.
Authorities found the pornography when they executed a search warrant following Hale’s arrest for promising money to a woman for sex. Hale’s misdemeanor prostitution case is scheduled for trial April 26 in DeSoto County.
Voters chose Charlie Hoots to succeed Hale in a special election.
