Members of the DeSoto DA Special Victims Unit spent part of last week in Biloxi, training alongside investigators, prosecutors and child advocates from across Mississippi at the 2026 One Loud Voice Conference. The DeSoto County District Attorney’s Office shared the news Monday evening, Nov. 9, saying the newly created unit is focused on protecting children and holding offenders accountable.
The conference is hosted by Children’s Advocacy Centers of Mississippi. According to the DA’s office, it brought professionals together for specialized training in investigating and prosecuting crimes against children, supporting victims, and building stronger partnerships between agencies.
DA Barton: protecting children starts with the DeSoto DA Special Victims Unit
District Attorney Matthew Barton tied the trip directly to the mission of the new unit. “Protecting our children is not just a priority, it’s a responsibility,” Barton said in the office’s announcement. He said the commitment “starts with our new Special Victims Unit,” which he described as a dedicated team that will fight for victims and go after offenders.
The office did not say how many staff members attended or list the specific sessions they took part in. A photo shared by the DA’s office shows three members of its team on stage in front of the One Loud Voice conference banner.
A new unit with a narrow focus
The Special Victims Unit is one of the newest pieces of the DeSoto County District Attorney’s Office. In late October, Barton announced that Jamie Young, a Hernando native and veteran prosecutor, would lead the unit. Young spent nearly 16 years as an assistant district attorney in Mississippi’s Eleventh Circuit Court District before returning home.
The unit was created with support and funding from the DeSoto County Board of Supervisors. Its caseload centers on crimes against the most vulnerable victims, including:
Child sexual abuse
Child exploitation
Internet crimes against children
Other serious offenses involving vulnerable victims
Why this training matters
Cases involving child victims are some of the most difficult a prosecutor’s office handles. They often depend on careful forensic interviews, close teamwork between police, child protection workers and advocacy centers, and prosecutors who know how to present a child’s account in court without causing more harm. Statewide gatherings like One Loud Voice give local teams a chance to compare notes with the agencies they will be working beside on those cases.
For DeSoto County, Mississippi’s third-most-populous county, the stakes are significant. The DA’s office handles felony cases from Southaven, Olive Branch, Horn Lake, Hernando, Walls and the county’s unincorporated communities, and a dedicated unit means child abuse cases will have prosecutors who focus on them full time.
How to report suspected child abuse
Anyone who suspects a child is being abused or neglected in Mississippi can report it to the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services hotline at 1-800-222-8000, or online at reportabuse.mdcps.ms.gov. If a child is in immediate danger, call 911 or your local police department or the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office.
