Biloxi man charged with trafficking due in court in October

A Mississippi man charged with trafficking two girls from their Gulfport home to Pensacola, Florida, is scheduled for trial in October.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin October 28.

According to jail records in Escambia County, Florida, 53-year-old Mark Wells of Biloxi was charged in March with two counts of forced labor by human trafficking and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor after allegedly taking a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old from their home and taking them to Pensacola.

News reports say Wells was a previous landlord of the family.

He faces up to 60 years in prison if convicted of all charges.

The Pensacola New Journal reported that according to court records, one of the girls called law enforcement from a Pensacola motel asking for help. When deputies arrived, the girl said Wells took her and her sister from their home in Mississippi.