Rankin County Pedophile Segment – The Clay Edwards Show, Episode 1,010

In this FAFO Friday segment, I’m fired up to hand out my “F’d Around and Found Out” championship to James Matthew Gardner, a 26-year-old Rankin County man sentenced to 45 years in prison for sexually abusing a child. I’m commending Madison and Rankin Counties’ DA Bubba Bramlett and his team for getting this predator off the streets. The case broke in September 2023 when the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department responded to a report of a juvenile sexual assault at the victim’s home, where Gardner was living during years of abuse. The victim and their sibling were interviewed at Parker’s Children Advocacy Center in Pearl, and a medical exam was conducted at the Children’s Safe Center in Jackson. Law enforcement executed search warrants, collected physical evidence, and sent it to the Mississippi Forensics Lab. In April 2025, a jury heard from the victim, their sibling, two sheriff’s investigators, a nurse practitioner, and two forensic scientists, convicting Gardner of statutory rape and gratification of lust after he testified on his own behalf. I note the victim was between 14 and 16 during the assaults and emphasize the gravity of the crime, toning down my usual flair to respect the seriousness. I applaud the victim’s courage and warn parents—especially single mothers—to be vigilant about who they let around their kids, suggesting the death penalty shouldn’t be off the table for such crimes. Gardner’s sentence is day-for-day, no parole, and I’m calling it justice served.