Pair trafficked teens at hotels in Suunyside, sout Queens
Two men have been indicted twice by a Queens County grand jury on kidnapping, sex trafficking, rape and other charges.
According to the charges, Lawrence Winslow and Alan Velvett coerced a 15-year-old girl to trade sex for cash for three days in February 2021 in two hotels in Queens.
In the second case, the defendants are accused of trafficking two other teens aged 13 and 14, as well as posting nude images of the victims online and stating that they were “for sale.”
“These three teenage victims were allegedly forced to trade sex for cash with strangers and the 14-year-old was coerced into having intercourse with both defendants,” said District Attorney Melinda Katz.
Winslow, 27, of Pennsylvania and Velvett, 27, of Jamaica were arraigned on a 28-count indictment. If convicted, Winslow and Velvett each face up to life in prison.
They were also arraigned today on a 13-count indictment. If convicted on these charges, the defendants face up to 25 years in prison.
According to the first indictment, in February the 15-year-old victim met the defendants at the La Quinta Inn on Queens Boulevard in Sunnyside, where she was told she would engage in sex for cash.
Winslow paid for two rooms at the hotel and took semi-nude photos of the child and posted online advertisements. Both Velvett’s and Winslow’s cell phone numbers were used with the ads.
Before the victim had sex with strangers, she was forced to have sex with Winslow twice. That was followed by a string of strangers who had intercourse with the girl, and every dollar was pocketed by the defendants.
Velvett then relocated the victim to the JFK Inn in Springfield Gardens, where the victim was again forced to have sex with strangers for cash. Velvett also coerced the girl into having sex with him.
The teenager was rescued when an undercover police officer responded to the online ad and met with the girl in person at one of the hotel rooms. Velvett was arrested after arriving in the room. Winslow was arrested after being found in the second hotel room across the hall.
In the second case, the two teens met Winslow at the La Quinta Inn where he took nude photos of the youngsters. One of the teenagers had sex with a stranger.