State Court of Appeals upholds Cliff Kirkland conviction on sex charges

The state Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court ruling that denied the appeal of a former Biloxi official asking to have his conviction overturned.

Cliff Kirkland was convicted of nine counts of touching a child for lustful purposes and sentenced to 35 years in prison. The nine counts included three victims.

Kirkland appealed on two issues — that the trial court refused to hold three separate trials for each of the victims and that it erred in not finding a discovery violation when the state did not tell the defense about a tattoo on a victim’s wrist marking the date she told someone about her assault.

The appeals court found no errors in the lower court’s rulings and affirmed the conviction.

Kirkland worked under three mayors for the city of Biloxi and resigned from his post as Chief of Innovation and Economic Development after his arrest in 2019. He was indicted in 2020 and tried in May 2022. He was convicted after a five-day trial.