FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, December 12, 2023
Long Island Man Indicted for Sex Trafficking of Teenage Girl
Defendant Also Charged with Promoting Prostitution of 26-Year-Old Woman
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a man has been arraigned on an indictment in which he is charged with sex trafficking of a child and other charges for allegedly forcing a 15-year-old girl to engage in prostitution.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This defendant allegedly exploited a vulnerable teenager to engage in prostitution over several days before she was able to escape. I am deeply committed to bringing to justice individuals who prey on troubled and at-risk young people, and we will now seek to hold this defendant accountable.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Terrence Reid, a.k.a. Chinchilla, 43, of Hempstead, New York. He was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on an indictment in which he is charged with sex trafficking of a child, sex trafficking, attempted sex trafficking, second-, third-, and fourth-degree promoting prostitution, and endangering the welfare of a child. The defendant was ordered held without bail and to return to court on January 31, 2024. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted of the top count.
The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, in early 2022 the defendant messaged the 15-year-old victim on Instagram, and they messaged back and forth for a few days.
In May 2023, the 15-year-old, who was going through challenges at home, allegedly agreed to meet with the defendant, who picked her up at her aunt’s home in Brooklyn.
The defendant then allegedly took the 15-year-old and a 26-year-old woman to a hotel in East Orange, New Jersey, had semi-nude photos of them taken, and posted them online on a website used for prostitution. The older woman then allegedly began engaging in prostitution at the hotel. After a few days, it is alleged, the defendant drove both females to a hotel on Jamaica Avenue in Queens, where they rented a room.
The defendant then allegedly drove them to a prostitution street track on Pennsylvania Avenue in the 75th Precinct, where they were allegedly forced to walk the track all night until about 7 a.m. the following morning.
The 15-year-old allegedly engaged in numerous acts of prostitution while walking the “Penn Track” from May 22 to May 25, 2023. The defendant allegedly imposed a $300 a day quota on both women, warning them “it would be a problem” if they did not meet the quota.
Furthermore, it is alleged, on May 25, 2023, while on the “Penn Track,” the 15-year-old was allegedly assaulted and robbed by a man who paid to have sex with her. When she told the defendant what happened, he allegedly screamed at her and ordered her to get back on the track.
Finally, it is alleged, while everyone was sleeping at the hotel in Queens, the 15-year-old sneaked out of the room, got in a taxi and reported the incidents to her case worker.
The case was investigated by New York City Police Department Detective Courtney Thorpe of the New York City Police Department’s Human Trafficking Squad, under the supervision of Sergeant Kevin Kavanagh, Lieutenant Amy Capogna and Captain Thomas Milano.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney David Weiss, Chief of the District Attorney’s Human Trafficking Unit, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Aurora Martinez, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Miss Gregory, Chief of the District Attorney’s Special Victims Bureau.
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An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt