DESOTO COUNTY, Miss. — Lindsey Whiteside has been indicted by a grand jury on federal charges of transporting a minor across state lines for sexual activity, DeSoto County Sheriff Thomas E. Tuggle II said Thursday.

She is currently in federal custody, he said.

“My hope is that this is justice for the victim, closure for the family and healing for our community,” Tuggle said.

Whiteside, a former youth minister at Getwell Church in Hernando, Miss., and a former basketball coach at DeSoto Central High School in Southaven, Miss., was indicted on one count of sexual battery of a child in December 2024. She was arrested in November 2024 on a sexual battery charge.

She was sentenced Oct. 13 to three years of house arrest after pleading guilty to sexual battery of a minor.

Prosecutors said the victim was 14 to 15 years old at the time and the sexual abuse happened from May 2024 to Nov. 2024.

That sparked outrage from many parents and the county’s district attorney, who called for a higher sentence.

“Why is our school board not, not being harder on this, why is there not a broader message being sent that we will not tolerate this,” said Licensed Social Worker Brittany Benson.

Judge Andrew Howorth recused himself from the case after outcry from the public over Whiteside’s sentence of three years house arrest and seven years supervised probation.