A 51-year-old Jones County man will be 80 before he has a chance for probation, following his sentencing by a Superior Court Judge last week.
Brian Ross was in court Aug. 6 to enter a guilty plea for three counts of child molestation and received a sentence of 60 years with 30 years to serve in prison. His sentence was a fraction of what he could have received if found guilty by a jury for the eight charges he was originally facing.
Ross was re-indicted by a Jones County Grand Jury Aug. 3 for three counts of incest, one count of aggravated child molestation and four additional counts of child molestation. The maximum sentence he was facing for the charges was life imprisonment plus 180 years. Ross will serve every day of the 30-year sentence, with credit for time served from the date of his arrest, Sept. 22, 2025.
The case was prosecuted by District Attorney Wright Barksdale, and Ross was represented by defense attorney Keith Fitzgerald.
Superior Court Judge Terry Massey presided over the case. As the result of plea negotiations, counts 1-5 were nol prosed. The defendant was sentenced to 20 years for each of the three remaining counts of child molestation with the counts ordered to be run consecutively.
The victim was not in the courtroom but watched via Zoom. At the conclusion of the sentencing, Barksdale read a victim’s statement sent to him in a text message. The young woman is now 18; she was 14 at the time her nightmare began.
“It’s the state’s intent that Mr. Ross never gets out of prison in his lifetime,” the DA stated to the court.
The victim’s statement talked about the many ways her life and the lives of those around her were impacted by Ross.
“I am thankful this is finally coming to an end,” her statement concluded.
Massey spoke to Ross at the conclusion of the sentencing.
“What you did is so wrong, it’s hard to believe it happened. You caused great harm; I can only hope the victim can recover,” he said. “If you do get out, don’t do anything that would ever bring you before this court again.”
The Aug. 6 proceeding began with Barksdale styling the case for the court. He stated that Ross was re-indicted the previous Monday and the state and defense had agreed on a negotiated plea.
The DA said Ross was arrested Sept. 12, 2025, following a call to the Jones County Sheriff’s Office that the defendant had made threats he was going to harm himself.
“Lt. Travis Walker arrived to find Mr. Ross in the backyard with a pistol. The lieutenant and others were able to take him safely into custody,” he said.
Barksdale said at that time, Ross made the statement that the victim’s statements were true.
The district attorney said if the case went to trial, the state believes it could prove that Ross committed the illegal acts.
“We have worked the case and are ready for trial,” he said. “We believe it would be a slam dunk, based on the evidence.”
