Oliver Sohngen / LICAM
Dec. 20, 2017 By Nathaly Pesantez
The founder of a Long Island City music school was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for underage sex trafficking.
Oliver Sohngen, who founded the Long Island City Academy of Music, paid to have sex with minor girls at least twice, and tried to engage in sex trafficking of girls under the age of 14, said acting Manhattan U.S. attorney Joon H. Kim in a statement. Sohngen pled guilty to charges in the federal case in August.
“His significant sentence will ensure that he is no longer a threat to our community, in particular, our children,” Kim said.
Sohngen, 52, was arrested in May after federal agents discovered texts from a Bronx-based pimp that were connected to Sohngen’s number. The texts ranged from March 2013 to November 2013, and included coded information on minors, aged between 8 and 17, that Sohngen could arrange to have paid sexual encounters with.
Sohngen additionally engaged in sexual contact with minor girls on at least two occasions.
He also planned to meet with a 15-year-old girl for sex, and arranged the details with her between November 2015 and January 2016. But the 15-year-old girl was in fact an undercover NYPD officer.
Soghnen was also sentenced to 10 years of supervised released.
The Long Island City Academy of Music is listed as closed on Yelp, and calls to the number on the school’s web page were sent to voicemail.
