After being released from prison in 2010, ex FBI informant, Ray Lawrence moved into his daughter’s dormitory in NY City. Soon, he started doing “therapy sessions” with her roommates, convincing them that they were broken and need of fixing and that he could help them.
Raymond Rodio III had been running the drug-fueled brothel, which involved more than 20 women in their 20s, since 2014. He set up dates through Backpage and Craigslist.
On February 4th, Rodio plead guilty to operating a sex trafficking ring in the basement of his parents’ home, where he occasionally locked them inside and forced them to use a bucket as a toilet. He is expected to be sentenced to nine and a half years in prison.
New York Senator Alessandra Biaggi noted that “human-traffickers rely heavily on public transportation to move their victims, in plain sight, across the country.” In his veto memo, Cuomo noted that the New York Interagency Task Force Against Human Trafficking already offers a training that “meets the minimum requirements” outlined in Biaggi’s bill.
Abiodun “Abi” Adeleke, 33, of Kings Park, NY. was convicted by a jury of two counts of sex trafficking as a class B violent felony, three counts of sex trafficking as a class B felony, third-degree promoting prostitution (a D felony) and third-degree assault (a class A misdemeanor).
Ishi Woney, 24, of New York, trafficked Corinna Slusser, 19, and others, including a minor and a mentally disabled woman with the IQ of a third-grader, according to court papers.
Andrew Frey, 54, of Coram on Long Island, NY, attempted to abduct sex workers on two separate occasions with the intent of forcing them to engage in commercial sex acts. Authorities says Frey has a history of violence against sex workers and poses a danger to the community.
The Rochester Human Trafficking Court in NY is expanding its services to include towns and villages around Monroe County, with the help of a $750,000 federal grant. Rochester City Court Judge Ellen Yacknin says that much of the funding will go toward providing coordinated services.
The trafficker would always pay for the rooms in cash and when he didn’t have money for rooms at the Econo Lodge in N.Y.C., NY, he allowed hotel staff to rape the 10-year-old girl “in lieu of his payment for the rooms,” the papers show. There was even a bowl of free condoms displayed at the front desk that the victim would use when they ran out, the suit states.
The New York lawsuit stated that employees were required to pay a contract termination fee of up to $25,000 if they left before the end of their term. US District Judge Nina Gershon found owners Benjamin Landa and Bent Philipson liable for violating the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA). This act “prohibits the use of threats of serious harm or abuse of legal process to obtain the labor or services of a person.” This not only includes physical abuse, but also circumstances where employees are forced to work to avoid getting harmed.”
Charles White, 39, along with his accomplice Jason Walden, 33, of Harlem, New York, kept two young opioid addicts as slaves inside their rundown house. The men used drugs and beatings to force the women to have sex with as many as 15 men a night. White will spend 10 years behind bars and Walden will spend 8 years.
Finding new and innovative ways to combat the demand for purchased sex, raise awareness to this nationwide epidemic, and provide safe environments for victims.
