NEW YORK (AP) – The first person to be charged under a 2007 New York sex trafficking statute has pleaded guilty to forcing three teenagers into prostitution.
The law was signed by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who later resigned after it was revealed he patronized an expensive prostitute in Washington. It focuses on those who exploit girls and women in brothels, in massage parlors and online.
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown says Woodley Gaston faces three to nine years in prison after pleading guilty Tuesday to sex trafficking and other crimes.
Authorities say Gaston used intimidation and even death threats to force a 16-year-old girl into prostitution and then advertised her services on the Internet. He also was charged with similar offenses against another 16-year-old girl and an 18-year-old woman.