A New York City foster mother and her husband face sex trafficking charges after authorities said they forced a number of young women into prostitution, including two girls who had been placed in the woman’s care.
Sharice and Kareem Mitchell allegedly trafficked eight women between 2018 and this month, forcing them to have sex acts in cars and hotels across the city.
“Sex traffickers target the most vulnerable New Yorkers, including, all too often, young New Yorkers in the child welfare system,” Manhattan District attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement. “As alleged, instead of providing a safe home, this husband and his wife forced eight young women into prostitution.”
The Prosecution reported that Sharice Mitchell lied in her application to be an adoptive mother, stating that her sex offender husband did not live with her, when in fact he did live with her. (Kareem Mitchell was convicted in 2008 on federal charges of transporting a minor for prostitution.)
“Two of the eight survivors were women who had been placed in their care as young adults,” the Manhattan district attorney’s office said.
Kareem Mitchell, 38, faces four felony sex trafficking charges. Sharice Mitchell, 51, faces three felony sex trafficking charges. They were arrested at Sharice Mitchell’s apartment in The Bronx on Wednesday morning and both pleaded not guilty in court later that afternoon.
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