A Jayess man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for possession of child sexual abuse material, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced.
Walthall County Circuit Court Judge Michael M. Taylor sentenced Joey Douglas Dunaway on October 19, 2026, to 40 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections for one count of possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Under the sentence, Dunaway must serve 8 years day-for-day, without possibility of parole, followed by 5 years of supervised probation and 27 years of unsupervised probation. He was also ordered to pay $1,000 to the Mississippi Children’s Trust Fund, $1,000 to the Mississippi Crime Victim Compensation Fund, and $1,000 to the Victims of Human Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation Fund. Dunaway will have to register as a sex offender upon release.
The case was investigated and prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office and originated as a Cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
“A child is victimized over and over when their abuse is captured in a video or image, and it is our obligation to protect them by putting these predators behind bars,” Fitch said. “Together, we can make the internet safer, but we need your help. If you suspect a child is being exploited or abused, please report it to my office. Your tip could save a life.”
Anyone with information about a child being sexually exploited online can report it to 1-800-843-5678 or online at www.cybertipline.org. The hotline is manned by NCMEC 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and tips are reported to the Attorney General’s Office, which runs the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force for Mississippi.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
