A man who had previously served on the Moss Point, Miss., school board and run for mayor was arrested Wednesday and charged with multiple sex crimes involving a minor.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said 38-year-old Isaiah Thomas Hayes was taken into custody Wednesday and charged with one count of enticing a child to meet for sexual purposes and three counts of sexual battery.

A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said all four charges involved the same child. Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter told the Sun Herald a 17-year-old victim had come forward.

Hayes was working as a campus police officer for Moss Point schools at the time of his arrest, at which point he was terminated by the school district.

The incidents which are the basis of the charges against Hayes occurred between August and the end of October, according to the sheriff’s office. The incidents occurred off campus, Ledbetter told the newspaper.

Hayes served on the Moss Point school board, a district handbook shows, and he ran for mayor in Moss Point in 2017 and for a seat on the board of aldermen in 2021, according to Facebook campaign pages.

The Moss Point School District issued a statement Thursday.

“Under no circumstances does the Moss Point School District condone or tolerate employees engaging in criminal conduct with students,” the statement read. “Should information be presented to the MPSD’s administration that such inappropriate behavior may be taking place, the district immediately investigates and handles each situation.”

The school district also said it would not comment further on Hayes’ arrest, citing the open investigation.

As of Thursday afternoon, Hayes remained in the Jackson County (Miss.) Adult Detention Center under total bond of $120,000.

In 2017, another Moss Point campus police officer, Kevin S. Williams, was sentenced to 20 years in state prison after being found guilty of sexual battery and touching a child for lustful purposes. The charges stemmed from incidents involving a 16-year-old student at Moss Point High School.