A Mississippi man was sentenced Feb. 23 to serve the statutory maximum sentence of eight years in prison following his conviction for assaulting a U.S. Postal carrier.

According to court documents, on Feb. 11, 2023, John Scott, 21, of Clarksdale, assaulted a U.S. Postal carrier and attempted to force the carrier to perform oral sex. Scott was arrested that day and has remained in federal custody since.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Michael P. Mills ordered Scott to serve 96 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He also recommended that the U.S. Bureau of Prisons evaluate Scott for sexual dangerousness under federal law.

“Postal employees and all gainfully employed people should be able to do their jobs without being victimized by violent individuals,” remarked U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner. “We hope that today’s sentence will send a message that this type of violence against unsuspecting, hard-working individuals in the workplace will not go unpunished.”

“The safety and security of Postal Service employees is core to the mission of the Postal Inspection Service. While assaults against our employees are rare, when they do occur, we will aggressively investigate to find those responsible and bring them to justice,” said Scott Fix, inspector-in-charge of the Houston division. “The severity of the sentencing handed down to John Thomas Scott shows that the judge has also taken the physical assault against our letter carrier seriously. We extend our appreciation to the Clarksdale Police Department that assisted with this investigation.”

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Clarksdale Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Roberts prosecuted the case.