A Biloxi man behind a human trafficking ring that forced a juvenile into prostitution pleaded guilty to a pair of charges on Monday and will spend up to 50 years in prison.
Malik Causey, 26, was the leader of a human trafficking operation before getting caught, said Assistant District Attorney Meghan J. Smith, who prosecuted the case. According to Smith, the investigation showed that in the summer of 2023, a then-14-year-old runaway was contacted through social media by Causey’s co-defendant, Jasmine Drake, who had been instructed by Causey to find “pretty girls” to join their operation.
After contacting the juvenile, Drake met up with her before taking her 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 the child at the center of the case, Causey had personally recruited several adult women to engage in similar activity under his control and supervision.
During the investigation, law enforcement obtained a “ledger” of Causey’s that showed he tracked the money brought in by the women involved in the operation. In exchange for performing sexual acts, Causey paid them through places to stay, food, and alcohol.
Causey admitted in court to engaging in prosecution but said it was never his intention to involve a juvenile. It was determined by investigators that, once he and Drake found out the 14-year-old was a missing person, they contacted her mother and returned to the child to her home in Long Beach.
During the plea, the victim’s mother addressed the court and Causey and said his actions had a severe impact on her daughter.
Causey was sentenced on two counts of human trafficking and will serve the sentence in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. He will not be eligible for parole or early release until 2052 at the earliest.
“Human trafficking inflicts devastating harm on its victims and breeds a range of related criminal activity, including prostitution, drug offenses, theft, and violence,” District Attorney W. Crosby Parker stated. “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 the possibility of parole.”