Attorney General Jim Hood has announced the sentencing of a Memphis man who failed to pay more than $23,000 in child support for his daughter on the Mississippi Coast.
Abdalrahim Shadi Hasain, 38, was sentenced Thursday to five years in MDOC custody by Harrison County Circuit Judge Christopher Schmidt. Hasain, who was previously convicted in Oktibbeha County for aggravated assault, must serve four of those years, with one year of post-release supervision. Judge Schmidt also ordered him to pay more than $23,000 in restitution.
“Parents of Mississippi children who are required by law to pay child support should take this as an example of what will happen if you fail your children,” said General Hood. “This is more than monetary support, and when a parent refuses to pay their end, innocent children and responsible parents are caused to suffer. Our office is doing its part to prevent that from happening to other families.”
Hasain was found guilty by a Harrison County jury last month on one count of felony non-support of a child. It was proven at trial the defendant, who was working as a barber at the time of his arrest, had the means to pay the child support but willfully refused to do so in excess of $23,000. In the 15 years he was ordered to pay child support, he only paid $40, which was paid after his indictment and arrest. He was immediately taken into custody and booked into the Harrison County Jail.
