Manhattan DA Announces Charges in Sex Trafficking Ring Involving 14-Year-Old Girl

NEW YORK – On Thursday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced that four young adults have been charged in connection with a sex trafficking ring in Manhattan.

The individuals in the group, identified as Nickolous Charles, 21 years old; Brianna Moreno, 20; Alejandrina Ventura, 24; Wilson-Mariano Ventura, 23, faces charges of conspiring to traffic a 14-year-old girl between November 2023 and February 2024.

His charges stem from an indictment in New York State Supreme Court for conspiracy in the fourth degree and promoting prostitution in the second degree. Charles, A. Ventura and W. Ventura also face charges of sex trafficking with a child. Moreno and Charles are also charged with promoting prostitution in the third degree.

“As stated, these people targeted a 14-year-old girl who often ran away from home, abused her and took advantage of her,” the lawyer said. Bragg district. “The girl’s age is very common in human trafficking cases and shows why my office is fighting to eliminate the statute of limitations for sex trafficking. “This young woman has a to be through a truly horrific experience, and it is no wonder that it takes survivors more than five years to recover.

According to court documents and statements made in the record, beginning on November 10, 2023, the four defendants conspired to prevent a 14-year-old girl who often ran away from the home

The defendants posted prostitution ads on several defendant websites, with pictures of the girl naked or semi-naked. Moreno and Charles arranged sexual meetings with the girl using several phone numbers, including her own, and defendants A. Ventura and W. Ventura paid from that prostitution in the form of “rent” to live and work in Ventura’s apartment in Harlem.

The defendants texted each other and the girl about the prostitution scheme, set up and provided a venue for the incidents, and collected profits from the commercial sex activities.

Investigators from the NYPD and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Human Trafficking Unit launched an investigation by tracing phone numbers associated with the online ads.