On March 7, 2022, Rex Duard Tidmore, 64, of Geraldine, pled guilty to 22 child sex crimes and another 4 drug-related offenses. At an April 21 sentencing hearing, Deputy District Attorney Summer Summerford presented a summary of evidence concerning Tidmore’s crimes to Circuit Judge Shaunathan Bell.
When a guilty plea is entered without a previously agreed-upon sentence (referred to as an “open plea”), it falls to the State and the Defense to present evidence and argument in support of the sentence sought. Following testimony by Case Agent Josh York, Deputy DA Summerford entreated the Court to sentence Tidmore to the maximum allowed on each of his 26 charged offenses. At the conclusion of the hearing, Judge Bell pronounced the following sentences:
- Conspiracy to Commit Human Trafficking: Life in Prison
- Sodomy 1st Degree: Life in Prison Without Possibility of Parole
- Possession of Obscene Material Involving a Minor (20 counts): Life in Prison for each count
- Manufacturing a Controlled Substance: 20 years
- Trafficking in Cannabis: Life in Prison Without Possibility of Parole
- Unlawful Possession of Controlled Substance: 5 years
- Unlawful Possession of Drug Paraphernalia: 1 year
Bell further ordered that the sentences run consecutively rather than concurrently, meaning that even without the 2 sentences of life without the possibility of parole, Tidmore faces an approximate total of 446 years in the state penitentiary.
Tidmore’s charges originated in December of 2017, when a confidential informant came to law enforcement to report that Tidmore wanted to purchase or kidnap a young girl to keep locked at his house for sexual purposes. During their investigation, officers discovered that Tidmore had already sexually abused a girl under the age of 12. Search warrants executed at Tidmore’s Geraldine residence revealed a sophisticated indoor marijuana growing operation, as well as pictures of a child engaging in sexual conduct.
Deputy District Attorney Summer Summerford and Assistant District Attorney Stanna Guice prosecuted the case against Tidmore. Deputy DA Summerford said, “In preparing this case, we spent a good deal of time with the child victim, who is now a teenager. I am grateful that we can now assure her that the person who committed these monstrous acts will never again see the light of day.”