The trial for embattled former DeSoto County high school basketball coach and youth minister Lindsey Whiteside will take place in the Mississippi Delta next year. And until then, the defendant will remain behind bars.
Chief U.S. District Judge Debra Brown revoked Whiteside’s bond on Wednesday. Court records show that the defendant had been living with her mother while on house arrest since Oct. 31 as she awaited her federal trial. Whiteside is now slated to appear in court on Feb. 9, 2025, at the United States Federal Building in Greenville.
Whiteside, who previously coached basketball at DeSoto Central High School and was a minister at Getwell Church, was indicted by a grand jury in late October for allegedly transporting a minor across state lines for sexual activity.
The defendant had previously been sentenced to house arrest on state charges, stemming from a sexual relationship she had with a 14 to 15-year-old while serving as a youth minister at the Hernando church, a crime in which she pleaded guilty. The crime occurred between May and November of 2024 when Whiteside reportedly engaged in a pattern of inappropriate behavior with the minor, including exchanging more than 60,000 messages.
Whiteside was reportedly the church figure who assigned seating and sleeping arrangements for youth trips. She is accused of using her role for nefarious purposes, according to testimony from a family member of the victim.
Her lack of jail time sparked outcry from the community and DeSoto County District Attorney Matthew Barton, who pursued a 30-year sentence on state charges against Whiteside.
Michele Henley, the District 2 representative on the DeSoto County School Board, sent a letter supporting Whiteside to the judge who oversaw the defendant’s trial. Barton argued that the board member used her position as an elected official to sway the judge’s view of Whiteside, while community members flooded a recent school board meeting demanding Henley’s resignation from her post. Henley was later voted out as board president, and her colleagues have expressed a desire for her to resign from her elected post altogether.
As for the upcoming trial, Whiteside is represented by prominent Oxford attorney Tony Farese, who has maintained that his client was in a consensual relationship with the victim and does not pose a threat to the community. Whiteside is charged with transporting a minor across state lines for sexual activity. If convicted, she faces a minimum of 10 years behind bars.
