NEW YORK, NY (PRESS RELEASE) Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Shamiek Anderson, 34, and Lashay Moseley, 27, have been indicted by a Queens County grand jury and arraigned in Queens Supreme Court on charges of sex trafficking, assault, and other crimes for allegedly forcing a 25-year-old woman into having sex with strangers for cash. Defendants allegedly withheld the victim’s phone, assaulted her on several occasions, kept her drugged, and threatened further harm if she tried to leave.
District Attorney Katz said, “As alleged, the defendants forced the victim into prostitution for their own profit, subjecting her to brutal conditions after she refused to willingly follow their orders. No individual should ever be exploited and forced into sexual acts against their will. My Human Trafficking Bureau works tirelessly to rid Queens County of this degrading industry. The defendants are now in custody and face justice in our courts.”
Anderson, of 133rd Avenue in Rochdale, Queens, and Moseley, of Roquette Avenue in Floral Park, Queens, were arraigned Wednesday before Queens Supreme Court Justice Ira Margulis on a 9-count indictment charging them with four counts of sex trafficking and promoting prostitution in the second degree. Defendant Anderson faces an additional count of strangulation in the second degree and assault in the third degree. Defendant Moseley faces an additional two counts of assault in the second degree. Justice Margulis ordered the defendants to return to Court on September 12, 2022. If convicted, Anderson and Moseley face up to 25 years in prison.
District Attorney Katz said, according to the charges, between January 27 and March 22, 2022, the victim was missing from her home. During that time, defendant Moseley, a long-time friend of the victim, allegedly urged the victim to stay with her and promised to help her obtain proper employment and become more independent.
Continuing, DA Katz said, defendant Moseley allegedly worked with defendant Anderson to post online advertisements containing the victim’s information for the purpose of prostitution. At the direction of both defendants, the victim engaged in sexual activity with strangers for cash in various locations throughout Queens Village and New Jersey.
According to the charges, the proceeds of the victim’s prostitution went directly to the defendants, who were also in possession of the victim’s phone throughout her stay. Once the victim started to demand her property back, defendant Anderson strangled and choked the young woman on two separate occasions, while defendant Moseley dragged her by the hair and hit her with a metal object due to her repeated requests for the phone. The victim was also allegedly drugged to keep her in compliance with the defendants’ demands to engage in further prostitution activity and was threatened with additional harm if she tried to leave.
District Attorney Katz said that during a scheduled sexual encounter, the buyer asked if the victim was okay. The victim replied that she needed help and the buyer ordered her an Uber which she took to the local Police Department in New Jersey, enabling her to escape. She then ultimately connected with Detective Courtney Thorpe, of the NYPD Human Trafficking Squad.
The investigation was conducted by Detective Courtney Thorpe, New York City Police Department’s Human Trafficking Squad, under the supervision of Sergeant Robert Duplessis, Lieutenant Amy Capogna, Captain Thomas Milano and under the overall supervision of Inspector Carlos Ortiz.