Serviceman arrested for child sex crimes

A 403rd Wing member, assigned to the 403rd security forces squadron at Keesler Air Force Base, pleaded guilty on child sex crimes Wednesday and was convicted under the uniform code of military justice.
Thirty-one year-old Staff Sergeant James McGriff was sentenced Thursday to 12 years of confinement, reduction to E1, airman basic, and a dishonorable discharge. The crimes in question occurred in another state and the victim was the niece of the woman McGriff was dating at the time.
McGriff is being held in the Harrison County Jail pending transfer to a military prison. According to a Harrison County Jail Docket, McGriff was charged with a lewd act on a child under 16, committing sodomy on a child under 12, and enticing a child under 18 to take part in sexually explicit conduct.