Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Sex Traffickers Rarely Arrested, Prosecuted In NYC
By
Ben Yakas
Published Oct 27, 2010
Modified Oct 27, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Ben Yakas
Published Oct 27, 2010
Modified Oct 27, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Nonprofit organization Restore NYC is set to open the first safehouse in New York City dedicated to women who have escaped the global sex trade on Nov. 1 in Queens. But the opening underscores a major problem in NYC: the difficulty of successfully identifying, arresting and prosecuting sex traffickers.
According to the Wall Street Journal, "while there’s no way to quantify how many women are smuggled into the city to work as prostitutes, Restore NYC’s Faith Huckel says that her group alone has worked with some 100 victims since 2009." The New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services has recorded 29 arrests for sex trafficking in the state from January 2008 through September 2010; of those, 25 of the arrests have been in NYC, and only five of those 25 were sentenced. Sex trafficking was added to NYC’s penal code in 2008—before that, suspected traffickers were often charged with promoting prostitution, forcible kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment or rape solicitation. Part of the problem now is training officers to distinguish between sex trafficking and prostitution.
This past year, there have been several high profile cases of sex trafficking: a suspected ring in Sunset Park, where the remains of the baby of one of the sex workers was encased in cement and a Rubbermaid container; an underage ring run by the Bloods; a Queens madam who forced Korean immigrants into slavery; and a Gambino sex ring, also involving underage girls.
Actresses Sarah Jessica Parker and Gabourey Sidibe have lent their voices to new public service announcements about sex trafficking, to promote the Brooklyn sex trafficking unit, BKSTU. There is also a new hot-line available for victims, or anyone with information about sex trafficking, at 718-250-2770.
Tagged
crime
prosecution
restore nyc
sex ring
sex trafficking
slaves
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Man shot by ICE in NYC's Marble Hill said federal officers never identified themselves
The wounded man said he didn't learn ICE agents were involved until he woke up in the hospital.
By
Arya Sundaram
and
Samantha Max
Published Oct 14, 2026 at 5:26 p.m. ET
Brooklyn school dean says MTA officers assaulted him over a $3 bus fare he says he paid
Kyle Taylor, a dean at Mott Bridges Academy, says he made a legal bus transfer.
By
Carol Chen
News
Brooklyn school dean says MTA officers assaulted him over a $3 bus fare he says he paid
Kyle Taylor, a dean at Mott Bridges Academy, says he made a legal bus transfer.
By
Carol Chen
National Grid customers in NYC will see higher gas bills this winter
By
Rosemary Misdary
Bruce Blakeman joins Gov. Hochul in support for expanding NY rape law
By
Jon Campbell
2 men accused of stabbing off-duty NYPD detective in the Bronx plead not guilty
By
Charles Lane
and
Brittany Kriegstein
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .