BRONX, NEW YORK, May 14- District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced that a 34-year-old Bronx man has been sentenced to a maximum term of up to 25 years in prison for forcing a 13-year-old to service ‘Johns’ who had placed ads for sexual favors on Craigslist.
Sahim Lucas, of Prospect Avenue, was convicted by a jury earlier this month on one count of Sex Trafficking, a Class B felony offense, and one count of Promoting Prostitution in the 2nd degree, a Class C felony offense.
Lucas was sentenced by State Supreme Court Justice Megan Tallmer to concurrent terms of 12 and a half years to 25 years on the sex trafficking charge and 7 and a half to 15 years imprisonment on the promoting prostitution charge.
The crimes of which Lucas was found guilty occurred between November 21, 2008 and December 10, 2008.
Witnesses testified that Lucas met the 13-year-old runaway from Delaware in Atlantic City, New Jersey where she told him that she was interested in becoming a model. The jury was told that Lucas convinced the victim that he was a legitimate modeling agent and persuaded her to accompany him to New York City. After arriving at Lucas’ Prospect Avenue apartment, the young girl was told that she would not be modeling but working as a prostitute instead. The victim testified that was she coerced into prostitution through physical intimidation as well as the deprivation of food and sleep. She finally managed to escape after a violent episode during which Lucas choked her.
The girl’s testimony was corroborated by another young woman who told the jury that she also had been deceived by Lucas and later manipulated into engaging in prostitution. This witness told the jury that she and the girl would sometimes be sold together as a “2 Girl Special” with the pet names of ‘buttercup’ and ‘bubbles.’
The State Division of Criminal Justice Services believes this case to be only the third trial conviction statewide since the Sex Trafficking statute became law in November 2007. One of the other two convictions was also successfully prosecuted in the Bronx.
District Attorney Johnson thanked the following for the hard work and dedication that led to today’s sentencing: the Major Case Team of NYPD’s Vice Enforcement, Detective Rose Muckenthaler, and Assistant District Attorneys Thomas Leahy, Chief of the Investigations Division, Stuart Levy, Chief of the Rackets Bureau, Robert Caliendo and Vanessa McEvoy ADAs of the Rackets Bureau. Assistant District Attorneys Caliendo and McEvoy prosecuted the case.
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