By Bill Parry
A Long Island City music school teacher was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for underage sex trafficking.
Oliver Sohngen, 52, who founded the Long Island City Academy of Music, pleaded guilty in August to arranging paid sexual encounters with minor girls ranging in age from 8 to 17, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, and he was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan to 135 months.
“Oliver Sohngen, a teacher at a music school for children, was a sexual predator,” Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said. “He paid to have sex with minor girls at least twice, and attempted to engage in sex trafficking of girls under the age of 14. His significant sentence will ensure that he is no longer a threat to our community, in particular, our children. We remain committed to prosecuting all those who, like Sohngen, prey on our most innocent and vulnerable victims.”
Between March and November of 2013, the German-born Sohngen used the aliases “Helmuth Moss” and “Stephan Weierbach” while exchanging text messages with a Bronx man in order to arrange for sex with underage girls, prosecutors said.
Sohngen was also sentenced to 10 years of supervised release.
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
