Couple accused of prostituting 15-year-old Lacey girl plead not guilty

A couple accused of prostituting a teenage girl they met in Tacoma were booked into jail this week.

Desmond Wade Jr., 25, and Michkalin Fox, 24, are charged with first-degree human trafficking, promoting commercial sexual abuse of a minor, first-degree promoting prostitution and unlawful delivery of a controlled substance to a minor.

They were booked into jail Monday, and pleaded not guilty at arraignment Tuesday. Pierce County Court Commissioner Meagan M. Foley set Wade’s bail at $400,000, and Fox’s at $150,000.

Fox posted bail, and Wade was still in jail as of Thursday evening.

Their attorney’s were not immediately reachable for comment.

According to charging papers:

The 15-year-old girl ran away from her Lacey home in January 2014, and was introduced to Wade.

He and Fox locked the teen in a hotel room, took photos of her for Backpage.com, and convinced her to prostitute herself on the website.

They fed her about once a week, and got her hooked on methamphetamine.

She ran away about a month later, and later called Fox for help. Wade showed up and beat her, then left her with her friends.

The FBI interviewed the teen and forwarded her case to Tacoma police, who arrested Wade and Fox.

This story was originally published March 10, 2016 at 6:04 PM with the headline "Couple accused of prostituting 15-year-old Lacey girl plead not guilty."