A Jamaica man was sentenced to up to 10 years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to forcing a teenage girl into the sex trade.
Lance Hamilton, 30, of Foch Boulevard, pleaded guilty on Jan. 23 to one-count of sex trafficking before Acting Queens Supreme Court Justice Peter F. Vallone Jr., who sentenced him to five to 10 years in prison.
Hamilton met the victim through one of her associates in December 2015, and in February 2016 he began ordering the youngster, who had recently turned 16, into having sex with strangers for money. Hamilton would keep the money the victim made and increased the number of prostitution sessions while setting a daily quota for the teenager to meet, according to the charges.
In order to generate more customers, Hamilton forced his victim to walk Sutphin Boulevard to solicit and he posted explicit images of the teenager on Backpage.com. At times the victim would complain and Hamilton would react by punching and choking her and on one occasion he pulled a gun on her.
The victim’s ordeal ended in April 2016 when Hamilton permitted her to leave because he learned she was pregnant.
“The defendant forced an underage girl into prostitution and assaulted her when she tried to stop having sex with strangers for money,” said Acting Queens District Attorney John M. Ryan. “Prostitution is not a victimless crime. The defendant used this teenage girl to line his own pockets with cash. The defendant is now going to prison as a result of his actions.”
