for immediate release contact - Queens County District Attorney

DISTRICT ATTORNEY
QUEENS COUNTY
125-01 QUEENS BOULEVARD
KEW GARDENS, NEW YORK 11415-1568
718-286-6000
Release # 19-2013
www.queensda.org
RICHARD A. BROWN
DISTRICT ATTORNEY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: PRESS OFFICE
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2013 (718) 286-6315
QUEENS COUPLE INDICTED ON SEX TRAFFICKING CHARGES
Allegedly Prostituted 19- And 20-Year-Old Women Against Their Will In Alleged ‘Stolen’ Queens House
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced today that a St. Albans, Queens, man has
been indicted by a Queens County grand jury on kidnapping, sex trafficking, rape and other charges for
allegedly prostituting two young women – a 19-year-old runaway from Rockland County and a 20-year-old
from New York City – in a foreclosed house on Springfield Boulevard that he and his girlfriend unlawfully
occupied. His girlfriend also faces sex trafficking charges.
District Attorney Brown said, “The defendant Green is accused of being a sexual predator and a
poacher, who took custody of his two victims by pretending to be a prostitution customer and then forcing
them to work for him. Together, he and his co-defendant are alleged to have participated in a modern-day
version of slavery by holding the two young women captive and coercing them through threats of physical
harm to prostitute themselves for the defendants’ financial gain.”
District Attorney Brown continued, “Fortunately, State lawmakers gave prosecutors a new tool in
2007 to bring those who victimize and exploit such vulnerable individuals to justice and put them behind
bars for a long time. Since the enactment of that law, my office has brought charges against 17 defendants
for sex trafficking. Of the nine completed cases, all have resulted in conviction . Eight of the defendants
have been sentenced to state prison time and the ninth is presently awaiting sentence.”
The District Attorney identified the defendants as Hikeem L. Green, 38, and Darcell Marshall, 22,
both of 119-02 Springfield Boulevard in the St. Albans section of Queens. Green has been indicted on
charges of first- and second-degree kidnaping, first-degree rape, first-degree criminal sexual act, sex
trafficking, second- and third-degree promoting prostitution, second-, third- and fourth-degree criminal
possession of a weapon, first- and second degree unlawful imprisonment, second- and third-degree assault,
third-degree burglary, first-degree criminal trespass, trespass and unlawful possession of marijuana.
Marshall has been indicted on charges of sex trafficking, second- and third-degree promoting prostitution,
second-, third- and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, criminal trespass, unlawful possession
of marijuana. If convicted, If convicted, Green faces up to 25 years to life in prison and Marshall faces up
to 25 years in prison.
The two defendants were arraigned today on the indictment before Acting Queens Supreme Court
Justice Barry Kron. Bail was set at $800,000 for Green and $150,000 for Marshall, with bail sufficiency
hearings ordered for both defendants. Their next court date is March 21, 2013.
District Attorney Brown said that, according to the charges, Green first took custody of the two
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women separately by pretending to be a “John” (prostitution customer) and picking them up on “tracks”
(known prostitution locations frequented by prostitutes and their customers) in the Bronx and Brooklyn.
He then allegedly told them that he was a pimp and that they now had to work as prostitutes for him.
Green allegedly kept the two women imprisoned inside the 119-02 Springfield Boulevard location
between October 2012 and December 2012, during which time he took photographs of both victims and
posted them on the adult website directory, backpage.com, to advertise their services as prostitutes. It is
alleged that numerous men responded to the ads and the victims met with them either at the Springfield
Boulevard address or other locations in Queens where they were forced to perform various sexual acts with
the men for money, which they had to turn over to Green and Marshall. It is additionally alleged that
Green and Marshall also forced them to work as prostitutes at Queens “tracks” and made them ingest pills
called “mollies” (a street term given by the DEA to a purer form of an alternative of Ecstasy).
It is further alleged that during this time Green threatened both victims with physical violence and
that, on occasion, he choked and slapped the face of the 19-year-old victim and slapped and punched the
face of the 20-year-old victim. It is alleged, for instance, that on November 30, 2012, Green punched the
20-year-old victim in the face more than twenty times, causing her face to swell and her tooth to break,
because she wanted to leave. He then allegedly forced her to perform oral sex on him, after which she
managed to call 911. Responding police officers allegedly found Green in a basement bedroom and
Marshall and the two victims in the living room. Police allegedly recovered a stun gun, a loaded semiautomatic
handgun and a box of ammunition in the basement and two bags of marijuana in the living room.
Lastly, it is alleged that Green and Marshall unlawfully entered and took up residency in the St.
Albans house, which is owned by Flagstar Bank.
District Attorney Brown said that the State legislation strengthening penalties against human
trafficking and providing assistance to victims was enacted on June 6, 2007, and took effect on November
1, 2007. Among the legislation’s provisions was the creation of a new class B felony – “sex trafficking”
– for perpetrators who profit from prostitution by engaging in sex trafficking; requiring those convicted
of sex trafficking to register as sex offenders with the state; providing social service assistance to victims
– such as temporary housing, health and mental health treatment and drug addiction treatment; and
ensuring that sex trafficking victims are eligible for services from the Crime Victims Board.
The investigation was conducted by Detective Rosemarie Muckenthaler and Detective Paul Carlin,
of the New York City Police Department’s Vice Enforcement Human Trafficking Unit, under the
supervision of Lieutenant Michael Costello and the overall supervision of Deputy Inspector Anthony
Favale. Also assisting in the investigation were Police Officer Jeronnie Glanville, Sergeant Greg Vallerugo
and Sergeant Robert Bracero, of the NYPD’s 113 th Precinct.
Assistant District Attorney Jessica L. Melton, of the District Attorney’s Special Proceedings
Bureau, is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Anthony M.
Communiello, Bureau Chief, and Assistant District Attorney Oscar W. Ruiz, Deputy Bureau Chief, and
under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco
and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Linda M. Cantoni.
It should be noted that an indictment is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed
innocent until proven guilty.
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Note to Editors: Press release e-version posted on www.queensda.org