A Queens grand jury indicted a Jackson Heights woman on charges of sex trafficking, grand larceny and other related crimes for allegedly forcing a woman to engage in prostitution on Roosevelt Avenue and to pay the defendant a daily sum of money.
Valezka Echeverrias, 31, of 80th Street, was arraigned Sept. 5 in Queens Supreme Court on an 11-count indictment. She is additionally indicted on charges of coercion and promoting prostitution in the fourth degree for extorting another victim by requiring a daily sum of money, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
Echeverrias was previously indicted in November 2024 for allegedly forcing a transgender woman to engage in prostitution on Roosevelt Avenue and attempting to extort another victim.
According to the indictment, around November 2022, Echeverrias paid for the victim to come to New York from Mexico and live with the defendant for approximately six months. During that time, the victim was forced to pay Echeverrias $800 a night by having sex with various men on Roosevelt Avenue. The victim was also coerced into robbing the men to meet a daily quota set by the defendant. The victim was physically harmed and slapped when she did not comply.
Echeverrias is additionally charged with extorting another victim at the location in 2023 by forcing the woman to pay the defendant $100 a day to engage in prostitution on Roosevelt Avenue. The victim was threatened with physical harm — including threats of being run over by a vehicle or being pepper-sprayed — if she did not pay or went to the authorities.
“Human trafficking is a dehumanizing trade that exploits and destroys lives,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “The defendant is accused of terrorizing numerous victims along Roosevelt Avenue, forcing them to engage in violent, sex acts, and profiting from their misery.”
Queens Supreme Court Justice Peter Vallone ordered the defendant to return to court on Sept. 18. If convicted of the top count, Echeverrias faces a potential maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
“She has remained in custody since the November 2025 indictment and will have to answer for the serious charges leveled against her by my office,” Katz said.
