You are reading

Corona man, busted in undercover sting, pleads guilty to sex trafficking a migrant teenager: DA

A Corona man admitted he brokered sexual encounters between clients and a young migrant girl he would deliver to different locations across Queens pocketing cash from her acts of prostitution. Via Getty Images

Oct. 7, 2024 By Bill Parry

A Corona man pleaded guilty Thursday on Queens Supreme Court to sex trafficking charges for targeting and exploiting a migrant teenager into prostitution and paying for sex.

Alfredo Morocho, 38, of 110th Street in Corona, admitted he brokered sex encounters between customers and the young girl at locations around Queens for months and pocketed the cash from the encounters.

According to the charges and the indictment, Morocho met the 17-year-old victim and her friends at a deli in Jamaica last November. After informing Morocho of her age, he told her he could get her prostitution customers. Morocho later asked for semi-nude photos of the victim to send to potential customers.

Between Dec. 1 and March 5, 2023, Morocho picked the victim up at her migrant shelter and drove her to an apartment near 43-18 108th St. in Corona and to other locations around the borough to engage in sex for money. For the sexual encounters, customers gave Morocho cash, which he controlled, and gave the victim only half of the proceeds at the end of the day.

In addition to profiting from her prostitution, Morocho paid for sex with the victim between November 2023 and March 2024.

On March 6, Morocho arrived with the victim at the Renaissance New York Fliushing Hotel at Tangram. Upon arriving, Morocho met with an undercover officer from the NYPD’s Human Trafficking Squad to negotiate the price of sex with the victim and was placed under arrest shortly afterward. When he was taken into custody, Morocho was in possession of a business card advertising “in-calls” with a phone number linked to hundreds of online prostitution advertisements.

“This defendant brazenly sex trafficked an underage child around Queens County and made money off her degrading sexual encounters,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “He exploited a child and will now serve eight years in prison.”

Morocho pleaded guilty before Queens Supreme Court Justice Peter Vallone to two counts of sex trafficking of a child, five counts of promoting prostitution, and two counts of patronizing a person in prostitution. Morocho was also charged in a criminal complaint with bail jumping after failing to appear in court after an arrest in 2018. Morocho is expected to receive a sentence of eight years in prison on Oct. 24. The DA’s Office recommended a sentence of twelve years in prison.

“My office is dedicated to eradicating sex trafficking in our communities,” Katz said. “And we stand with the survivors as we dismantle this harmful industry.”

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Repeat hate crime offender charged in anti-Muslim subway attack in Forest Hills: DA

A Southeast Queens man is being held without bail after he was criminally charged with assault in the first degree as a hate crime and other charges for allegedly punching and kicking a Muslim woman on an E train in Forest Hills during the early morning hours of Wednesday, June 18.

Naved Durrni, 34, of 106th Avenue in Jamaica, was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on Thursday and additionally charged with aggravated harassment in the first and second degrees.

Hate Crimes Task Force investigating bomb threats against Mamdani: NYPD

The NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force launched a probe into multiple death threats made against Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani after his district office at 24-08 32nd St. in Astoria received four expletive-filled phone voicemails, on various dates, making threatening anti-Muslim statements by an unknown individual, including a threat to blow up his car.

The calls were made from an untraceable number and labeled the mayoral candidate a “terrorist who is not welcome in New York or America” in a message phoned in on Wednesday morning.

Seven teens indicted for attempted murder in brutal Kissena Park gang attack on two girls: DA

A Queens grand jury indicted seven teenagers for attempted murder, gang assault, robbery, and other crimes for an attack on two girls inside Kissena Park in Flushing in early May.

The defendants, who are all 17 years old, were variously arraigned in Queens Supreme Court between June 4 and Wednesday in two separate 25-count indictments with two counts of attempted murder in the second degree. If convicted, they face up to 25 years in prison.

Queens Defenders founder charged with stealing nonprofit funds as second scandal unfolds

The founder of the Queens Defenders and her husband have lawyered up after they were indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly stealing tens of thousands of dollars from the non-profit organization.

Former Queens Defenders executive director Lori Zeno, 64, surrendered Wednesday at the Brooklyn federal courthouse. Zeno was arraigned on an indictment charging her and Rashad Ruhani, 55, with wire fraud conspiracy, theft, money laundering conspiracy and other crimes.