On Thursday, June 11, Joseph Shaw, 54, of Jackson was on trial for Rape and Sexual Battery in Madison
County Circuit Court, Division III. At the conclusion, the jury returned guilty verdicts on both counts. By
state law, his bond was revoked and he was taken into custody, where he will remain at the Madison
County Jail until sentencing on July 17. This conviction stems from an incident that occurred
on August 30, 2008. Around 1:15 p.m., Jackson police received a call to an apartment on Richsmith
Way. A then 13-year-old girl told police that Shaw, who was her mother’s boyfriend, had brought her
something to eat because her mother was at work.He sat down on the floor next to where she was sitting
on the couch. He fondled her breasts and sexually assaulted her.