Alleged Pimps Busted For Forced Prostitution
A grand jury has indicted three Queens residents on sex trafficking and other charges for allegedly using intimidation and threats to force a 14-year-old female runaway to work for them as a prostitute, it was announced.
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown identified the defendants as Lindsay Archibald, 31, of 75th Street in Woodhaven; Quanesha Hunte, 23, of 177th Street in Jamaica; and Stephen Garrison, 25, of Inwood Street, also of Jamaica.
The three defendants, who were originally arrested and charged in criminal complaints on Feb. 3, were arraigned last Friday, Feb. 21, before Queens Supreme Court Justice Richard L. Buchter on a 28-count indictment variously charging them with first- and second-degree kidnapping, first- and second-degree rape, first- and second-degree criminal sexual act, compelling prostitution, sex trafficking, seconddegree promoting prostitution, second-, third- and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, second- and third-degree assault, firstdegree unlawful imprisonment and endangering the welfare of a child.
Justice Buchter continued bail at $300,000 each for Hunte and Garrison and at $400,000 for Archibald. He set the next court date for May 1. If convicted, Archibald and Hunte each face up to 25 years to life in prison and Garrison faces up to 25 years in prison.
“Two of the defendants are accused of enslaving a young teenager and, together with the third defendant, forcing her to work as a prostitute and to turn over all the money she earned to them through the threat of physical violence,” Brown said in a statement last Friday. “Unfortunately for the victim, she discovered all too late that running away from home does not solve any problems and that few activities are as brutal and dehumanizing as prostitution.”
According to the charges, the 14- year-old female victim ran away from home in September 2013 and was later introduced to the three defendants. Archibald then allegedly told her that she had to choose which pimp she was going to work for as a prostitute.
When the teenager refused to make a decision, it is alleged, the three defendants threatened her and claimed that she now owed them a large sum of money and that she had to pay them back by doing prostitution acts- which she allegedly did inside of a location on 107th Avenue in South Jamaica.
Between Nov. 1, 2013 and Feb. 3, authorities said, the victim was kept inside the 107th Avenue location against her will allegedly by Archibald and Hunte and forced to have sexual intercourse with numerous men in exchange for cash, which she had to turn over to Archibald and Hunte.
It is additionally alleged that, on several occasions during the same time period, when she asked to stop doing prostitution and leave the 107th Avenue location, Hunte beat and kicked her in the head and stated, “You are not going anywhere.” Reportedly, Archibald repeatedly slapped her and punched her if she missed a prostitution date or did not make enough money and threatened to kill her if she left and stopped making money for him.
In one instance, it is alleged that he specifically stated, “If you ever try to leave, I’ll find you and kill you.”
On two occasions between December 2013 and January of this year, prosecutors charged, Archibald allegedly forced her to have sexual intercourse and oral sex with Garrison to test her out in order to see how well she was performing and that Garrison, in fact, forced himself on her.
On Feb. 3, it was reported, Archibald and Hunte allegedly moved the victim out of the 107th Avenue location to Hunte’s Queens residence on 177th Street. On that day, it is alleged, the victim had the opportunity to use a telephone to call her grandmother and 911 for help without anyone listening when Archibald briefly left the house and Hunte was sleeping.
The victim allegedly told her grandmother that she was being held against her will inside the location and that there was also a gun there- which she allegedly had seen Archibald holding in his hand and had seen the entire time she was at the 107th Avenue location.
When police arrived at the 177th Street location in response to the 911 call, they allegedly observed the victim run out of the location crying and upset. Inside, it is alleged, they observed a Glock handgun sitting inside an open drawer and Hunte and Garrison on the premises. Shortly thereafter, Archibald allegedly arrived outside the location.
In executing a court-authorized search warrant on Feb. 4, police allegedly recovered the .45 caliber black Glock 21 handgun from the open drawer. The handgun was allegedly loaded with a magazine containing approximately eight rounds of ammunition.
The investigation was conducted by Detectives Paul Carlin and Rosemarie Muckenthaler of the NYPD Vice Enforcement’s Human Trafficking Team, under the supervision of Sgt. Gregory Graves and Lt. Marcus Morales and the overall supervision of Deputy Inspector Anthony Favale and Chief Thomas Purtell.
Also assisting in the investigation were Police Officers Nicholas Derleth and Joseph Benson, under the supervision of Sgt. Alexander Cedillo and the overall supervision of Inspector Charles McEvoy of the 103rd Precinct.
Senior Assistant District Attorney Jessica L. Melton of the District Attorney’s Special Proceedings Bureau is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Assistant District Attorney Jasmine Chang, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Anthony M. Communiello, bureau chief, and Assistant District Attorney Oscar W. Ruiz, deputy bureau chief, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Linda M. Cantoni.
It was noted that an indictment is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
