FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, February 28, 2024
Brooklyn Husband and Wife Indicted for Sex Trafficking of a Child
Fifteen-Year-Old Victim was Allegedly Approached on Harlem Street, Lured to Brooklyn
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a Brooklyn couple has been arraigned on a 22-count indictment in which they are charged with sex trafficking of a child, promoting prostitution and related charges for the alleged sex trafficking of a 15-year-old girl.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “I am committed to rescuing and protecting our at-risk teens from those who seek to harm and exploit them. Luckily, this victim was located by police after reaching out to her foster mother. We will now seek to bring these defendants to justice.”
The District Attorney identified the defendants as Daryl Hicks, 38, and Michelle Wicks, 31, of East New York, Brooklyn. Hicks was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on an indictment in which he is charged with sex trafficking of a child, second-, third- and fourth-degree promoting prostitution, third-degree rape, use of a child in a sexual performance, endangering the welfare of a child, possessing a sexual performance by a child and promoting a sexual performance by a child. He was ordered held without bail and to return to court on March 13, 2024. Wicks, who was indicted for sex trafficking of a child and related charges, was arraigned before Justice Chun on December 7, 2023, and released without bail.
The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, between November 20, 2022 and December 30, 2022, the defendants allegedly met the 15-year-old victim and induced her to engage in acts of prostitution. The victim was allegedly approached by Hicks in Harlem and told by him “you could be working for me” and “I could put money in your pocket.”
It is alleged that the defendants actively posted the victim’s photo on escort websites and arranged “dates” for her at various locations in Brooklyn. They allegedly instructed her on what sexual services to offer, how much to charge, and how to communicate with customers.
Hicks allegedly engaged in sexual intercourse with the victim on December 25, 2022, according to the investigation. Photos and videos of the victim, including videos of sexual acts with Hicks, were allegedly discovered on the defendant’s cell phone.
On December 30, 2022, detectives from the Human Trafficking Squad went to the Imperial Hotel in East New York and recovered the victim inside a room registered to Hicks. She had been reported missing days earlier after reaching out to her foster mother and sending her photos.
The case was investigated by Detective Paul Mastronardi 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, and the overall supervision of Chief Carlos Ortiz.
The District Attorney thanked Human Trafficking Unit Paralegal Aurora Martinez and Digital Forensic Analyst Taylor Mumley of the Digital Evidence Lab for their assistance on the investigation.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Mary E. Monahan, of the District Attorney’s Human Trafficking Unit, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney David Weiss, Chief of the Human Trafficking Unit, and the overall supervision of Assistant District Attorney Miss Gregory, Chief of the District Attorney’s Special Victims Bureau.
#
An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.