A Jamaica man and his co-defendant from Pennsylvania on Jan. 12 were sentenced to 10 years in prison for forcing three underage girls into the sex industry in February 2021, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
Alan Velvett, 29, of Roscoe Street in Jamaica, and Lawrence Winslow, 28, of Coldale, Pa., each pleaded guilty to three counts of sex trafficking of a child and one count of rape in the first degree in November before Queens Supreme Court Justice Peter Vallone.
According to the charges, in February 2021, the defendants met two teenage victims, ages 13 and 14, at La Quinta Inn at 37-18 Queens Blvd. in Long Island City. The defendants took nude photos of the teens and posted the images online, stating that the girls were “for sale.” One of the teenagers had sex with a stranger and the defendants kept every dollar from the exchange.
That same week, Velvett and Winslow met a 15-year-old girl at the La Quinta Inn, where she was told she would engage in sex for cash. Winslow took semi-nude photos of her and posted them as online advertisements. The victim was then forced to have sex with Winslow, followed by a string of strangers. Every dollar from those proceeds was pocketed by Velvett and Winslow, according to the charges.
Afterward, the victim was relocated to the JFK Inn at 154-10 South Conduit Ave. in Jamaica, where she was forced to have intercourse with Velvett, followed by a number of strangers, the charges state. All of the proceeds from the exchange were once again kept by the defendants.
The teenager was rescued when an undercover police officer responded to the online advertisement and met with the girl in one of the hotel rooms, according to charges. Velvett was arrested after arriving at the room. Winslow was arrested after he was found in a second hotel room across the hall.
“My office takes a holistic approach to working with victims of human traffickers,” Katz said. “The first part of the process is to hold the traffickers accountable for their actions. I created the Human Trafficking Bureau when I took office to take predators like these off of our streets. We will continue to be relentless in this mission.”
Justice Vallone imposed 10-year prison sentences to each of the defendants, to be followed by 10 years post-release supervision.
Velvett and Winslow will also be required to register as sex offenders upon their release.
