The Gazebo Gazette
HARRISON COUNTY (GG) — On Monday, December 15, Malik Causey pled guilty to two counts of Human Trafficking and was sentenced by Circuit Court Judge Christopher Schmidt to a total of 50 years to be served in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
According to Assistant District Attorney Meaghan J. Smith, who prosecuted the case on behalf of the State, Causey was the leader of a human trafficking operation. In the case at hand, the investigation showed that in the summer of 2023, a then 14-year old runaway was contacted via Facebook by Causey’s co-defendant Jasmine Drake, who had been instructed by Causey to find more “pretty girls” to join their human trafficking operation.
After making contact with the child, Drake brought the child to Causey. The pair created an online advertisement, which led to Causey and Drake instructing the child to engage in commercial sexual activity with different men for multiple days at various hotels in Gulfport and Biloxi. Along with this child, Causey himself recruited multiple other adult women to engage in commercial sexual activity under Causey’s direct control and supervision.
Causey was directly responsible for getting the hotel rooms and setting prices. Law enforcement located a ledger on Causey’s iCloud account, tracking the money spent on the women and what they had brought into the business. In exchange for performing sexual acts for money, Causey provided the women with a place to stay, food, and alcohol.
During his plea, Causey stated he had been engaged in prostitution, but it was never his intention to involve a juvenile in the activity. It was determined that when Causey discovered the child was a missing person, Causey and Drake contacted the child’s mother, who then contacted the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office and was ultimately able to recover the child in Long Beach.
During the plea, the victim’s mother addressed the Court and Causey, informing everyone the impact that Causey’s actions had on her daughter.
Judge Schmidt sentenced Causey to 50 years for each of the two counts of Human Trafficking with the first 27 years to be served in prison without the possibility of early release or parole.
“Human trafficking inflicts devastating harm on its victims and breeds a range of related criminal activity, including prostitution, drug offenses, theft, and violence. The sentence imposed today underscores the seriousness of these crimes and sends a clear message that those who engage in such conduct will face severe consequences, as evidenced by the imposition of an almost three decade prison term that will be served day for day without probation or parole,” said District Attorney W. Crosby Parker.
