South MS habitual offender hit with two life sentences. Here’s why
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Jury convicted Biloxi man of sexual battery, 3 exploitation and 2 touching counts.
- Judge sentenced him to consecutive life terms without possibility of parole.
- Evidence included phones with porn videos/screenshots, thousands of texts and testimony.
A 45-year-old Biloxi man will spend the rest of his life in prison for sexually exploiting and abusing a child, beginning when she was 5 years old and continuing for a decade.
The victim was brave enough to testify against Cenales during a two-day trial, a news release from the office of District Attorney Crosby Parker said, despite the fact that a registered nurse testified the girl suffered, “significant physical trauma.”
At the end of a two-day trial on Wednesday, a jury convicted Ellis Lamont Cenales of sexual battery, three counts of exploitation of a child, and two counts of touching of a child for lustful purposes. Circuit Court Judge Christopher Schmidt sentenced Cenales to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, saying, “You will draw your last breath on earth in the penitentiary.”
Cenales is a habitual offender whose record dates to the 1990s, the news release says. His convictions include felony domestic violence/aggravated assault in 2007.
The child victim disclosed to her family in January 2024 that Cenales had sexually abused her. She testified that he “did not break” her, the news release says.
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Victim testifies in child sexual abuse case
“The victim further testified that Cenales would regularly make her send him pornographic photographs/videos or have her undress on video calls,” the news release says. “The child waited to report the abuse due to Cenales’ ongoing physical abuse of the child and her mother, which included a prior incident where Cenales stabbed the child’s mother in the child’s presence.”
Assistant District Attorney Mara Joffe prosecuted the case with Assistant District Attorney Meaghan Smith.
An investigator with the Biloxi Police Department initially interviewed the child victim, then served a search warrant at Cenales’ home, seeking all electronic devices. When police showed up, Cenales tried to flee. Officers caught him and found a cell phone in his pants pocket.
“That phone would prove to have dozens of pornographic images and videos of Cenales and the child, including video call screenshots where Cenales’ face could clearly be seen,” the news release says.
In addition to child pornography, Investigator Caleigh Gillespie found “thousands” of text messages between Cenales and the child that corroborated her testimony about the “boyfriend/girlfriend relationship” that Cenales wanted.
When police showed up in January 2024 to arrest Cenales, the news release says, he hid under a bed.
In the news release, District Attorney Parker said, “The victim in this case can now move forward knowing this man will never have the opportunity to harm a child again.”
This story was originally published March 12, 2026 at 1:29 PM.
