A Corona man was indicted by a Queens grand jury for sex trafficking of a child after he was arrested in an undercover sting at a Flushing hotel earlier this month.
Alfredo Morocho, 37, of 110th Street, is accused of recruiting a 17-year-old girl to have sex with strangers for his own profit, advertising her availability using semi-nude photos of her, and driving her to dates with customers.
According to the charges in the indictment, in November 2023, Morocho met the teenager at a deli in Jamaica and asked her and her friends if they wanted a job. The victim informed Morocho that she was underage, to which Morocho responded that he could get her a job in prostitution and that he had customers. He later asked for semi-nude photos of the victim to send to customers. Between Dec. 1 and March 5, Morocho picked the victim up at her migrant shelter and drove her to an apartment near 43-18 108th St. in Corona and to other locations to engage in sex for money. Morocho would keep all of the cash after the encounters and give the victim half at the end of the day.
In addition to profiting from her prostitution, Morocho paid for sex with the victim between November and March.
On March 6, Morocho drove the victim to the Renaissance New York Flushing Hotel in Tangram, where he met with an undercover officer, from the NYPD’s Human Trafficking Squad, to negotiate the price of sex with the victim and was placed under arrest shortly afterward. Morocho was in possession of a business card advertising “in-calls” with a phone number linked to hundreds of online prostitution advertisements.
“No child should ever be exploited,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “The underage victim in this case was preyed upon for financial gain. The defendant is also accused of having sex with her himself.”
Morocho was indicted on two counts of sex trafficking of a child, five counts of promoting prostitution, and two counts of patronizing a person in prostitution. Morocho was also charged in a criminal complaint with bail jumping after failing to appear in court after a 2018 arrest.
“I have dedicated significant resources to supporting those impacted by sex trafficking and to hold accountable those who manipulate and take advantage of other people’s vulnerabilities,” Katz said. “We will not relent in the fight against this dehumanizing industry.”
Morocho faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted and his arraignment is pending, according to the DA’s office. He is being held without bail on Rikers Island.
