QUEENS, NY – Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Tyquan Henderson has been sentenced to up to nine years in prison after pleading guilty to sex trafficking a then-16-year-old girl. The victim was forced into having sex with strangers for money in May and June of 2018.
“The defendant used both intimidation and manipulation to force a teenage girl into prostitution. He used this victim to line his own pockets with the cash she made selling sex to strangers,” said District Attorney Katz. “Sex trafficking is a brutal and degrading enterprise. My Office will continue to work tirelessly to free those trapped in the sex trade industry.”
The 24-year-old defendant, who goes by the street name “Gun Play,” of 156th Street in Queens, pleaded guilty in January 2020 to sex trafficking before Acting Queens Supreme Court Justice Peter Vallone Jr., who imposed today’s sentence of three to nine years in prison.
According to the charges, the victim met the defendant through a mutual friend when she was just 15 years old. Approximately a month later, after the teen had turned 16, she encountered the defendant again and at that time he coerced her into having sexual intercourse and oral sex with men in exchange for cash. Henderson began scheduling appointments for these encounters and told the girl to refer to him as “Daddy.” Additionally, Henderson verbally threatened the teen with harm if she didn’t make enough money. She was told that she must make a minimum of $500 every night.
The youngster escaped from the defendant, according to Court records, when she visited a friend’s home and the friend’s mother called the police.
The investigation was conducted by Detective James Rufle, formerly of the New York City Police Department’s Vice Enforcement Division’s Human Trafficking Team.
Assistant District Attorney Jessica L. Melton, Chief of the District Attorney’s Human Trafficking Bureau, prosecuted the case under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Gerard A. Brave.