A nine-count indictment accusing a Vicksburg-based state trooper of having sex with children as recently as August and as far back as 1999 was returned by Warren County grand jurors Tuesday.

Master Sgt. Dane Davenport, 45, of 407 Warren St., was immediately arrested on the indictment and taken before Judge Frank Vollor for arraignment. After being booked into jail here, he was driven to Starkville, where he faces a fondling charge.

Davenport was in the Oktibbeha County Jail this morning in lieu of $50,000 bond, said a spokesman for Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood.

Locally, state prosecutors, not the district attorney’s office, presented their evidence to the Warren County panel that went into session Monday. The reason was that the case “involved a public integrity issue and multiple jurisdictions,” the spokesman said.

Counts in the three-page indictment allege a “common scheme or plan” in which the defendant, being older than 18, had sexual relations with children under the age of 14 or fondled children younger than 16. As is customary, the children are not identified.

The first incident is alleged to have occurred in October 1999. Other specific illegal acts with children are alleged in July 2003 (three), November 2005, November or December 2005, May 2007 (two) and October 2007 . The code sections involved are 97-3-95 and 97-5-23. Maximum penalties are life terms for each of the four sexual relations counts and 15 years for each of the five fondling counts.

Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said he, Investigator Randy Lewis and Deputy Jason Bailess, as well as officers with the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol, took Davenport into custody at about 9:45 Tuesday morning in Jackson.

“He was transported to Vicksburg, where he was taken directly to circuit court for arraignment,” Pace said. “He was then taken to the Warren County Jail and was processed in on the Warren County indictment.”

Deputies then drove Davenport to Starkville, where he was informed of the charge there and placed in jail pending an arraignment this morning. Whether he will remain in Oktibbeha County or returned to Vicksburg possibly to post bond was not known.

The highway patrol has placed Davenport on administrative leave without pay until the case is resolved. No trial date has been set.

“We are always saddened to have to bring charges against any public servant,” said Hood in a statement released Tuesday afternoon. “We ask for the public’s understanding and patience while this case runs due course. As with any case, the charges are merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.”

Hood also thanked Pace and the Warren County deputies for their help in the investigation. “The Mississippi Highway Patrol has been aware of these charges and has fully cooperated with this investigation,” he said.