MOBILE, Ala. — A Mississippi man pleaded guilty in federal court to charges he faked his own death to avoid sex abuse charges.
Jacob Blair Scott pleaded guilty to charges of sending a false distress call that led to a Coast Guard search, as well as illegally shipping weapons across state lines and giving false information, The Associated Press reported.
Scott was charged with raping and impregnating a 14-year-old in July 2018 when a small boat belonging to him was found abandoned offshore near Orange Beach, Alabama. On the boat was a note with Scott’s Social Security number and an apology saying, “I’m sorry,” as we previously reported.
Police searched for a body for more than a week. Scott was eventually captured in 2020 in an RV park in Oklahoma, where he was living under an assumed name, CBS News reported.
Scott was previously sentenced to serve 85 years in prison in Mississippi for multiple sexual battery and child abuse charges, the AP reported. A federal judge will sentence him in November.
Scott, a military veteran, was awarded the Purple Heart in 2011 for injuries he receive while serving in Iraq, the AP reported.
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