New York Paralegal Blog

New York - As federal allegations against music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs dominate headlines, it's worth revisiting past cases that highlight the grim realities of sex trafficking. The 2012 conviction of Nicholas Alvarez, a man from Queens, for similar crimes provides a stark, resolved example of the brutal exploitation that prosecutors are now aiming to prove in the high-profile Combs case. Nicholas Alvarez was found guilty in a White Plains federal court in 2012 following a two-week jury trial. The court found that between December 2010 and February 2011, Alvarez lured women with fraudulent promises of financial security and protection, only to force them into prostitution. His cruel reign involved transporting his victims across state lines, including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, and Virginia. The methods employed by Alvarez were a horrific blend of physical and psychological abuse. According to evidence presented at his trial, he subje...

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, the New York City Police Department, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) today announced charges in a domestic sex trafficking operation run by a father and son. The indictments are the result of a long-term joint investigation between the DA’s Human Trafficking Program, the DA’s Major Economic Crimes Bureau, and the agencies above.

Leon Brown Also Accused of Raping and Assaulting Victim Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the indictment of LEON BROWN, a/k/a SEAN BROWN, 39, for forcing a victim to work as a prostituted woman, and for raping and assaulting her. BROWN is charged with three counts of Sex Trafficking, one count of Rape in the First Degree, two counts of Promoting Prostitution in the Third Degree, and one count of Assault in the Second Degree.[1]

Domingo Salazar and his wife, Norma Mendez, pled guilty on 07/01/2010 to sex trafficking charges relating to their forced prostitution of a minor. Both defendants face maximum sentences of life imprisonment, and Salazar also faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment. The defendants have been in federal custody since their arrests in November 2009. The plea proceedings were held before United States District Court Judge John Gleeson at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn. Between April 2007 and November 2009, the defendants, who are Mexican nationals, used physical violence, threats, and intimidation to force a 17-year-old Mexican woman (the victim), to work as a prostitute in and around New York City and elsewhere. The victim was not permitted to leave the apartment where she lived with the defendants in Brooklyn except to work as a prostitute. Half of the money she earned was taken by Salazar, and the balance was kept by drivers who transported her to work location...