Trial continues for former Biloxi official facing sex charges

The trial for Cliff Kirkland continues today as our media partner the Sun Herald reports Kirkland exchanged text messages with the young girls he’s accused of molesting for years.

Kirkland is accused of sending repeat messages when the girls wouldn’t respond. Two witnesses were called to testify against Kirkland on Monday.

They said he often brought gifts for the alleged victims and took them to events like baseball games or swimming as part of an alleged grooming process.

One of the girls confided in her former cheer coach in December 2019, who gave information to the girls’ parents and to Biloxi police.

Kirkland’s relatives, including two children, lived in his house and that the girls said they visited those kids.

The girls also claim the molestation happened on a couch bed in an apartment that Kirkland lived in at the home.

They also said he walked around in a white robe that he didn’t tie up.

The 69-year-old faces nine counts of touching a child for lustful purposes.