QUEENS, NY – Today, Cleveland Sterling, 34, has been arraigned on a 21-count indictment, charging him with sex trafficking, promoting prostitution, robbery, grand larceny, assault, petit larceny, and criminal mischief. Sterling allegedly forced two victims to engage in prostitution and assaulted and robbed them. He met the first victim, a 19-year-old woman, in 2016, and forced her to engage in sex for money at various locations around Queens, while taking photographs of her and creating online ads for sex.
District Attorney Katz said, “Traffickers use violence, intimidation and claims of financial debt to force victims into sex work. We are determined to prosecute these predators and get victims the resources they need to get their lives back.”
He struck her if she withheld cash from him and punched her in the face and body when she told him she didn’t want to have sex with customers for money. Sterling also met a second victim, a 19-year-old woman, in August 2021, and compelled her to engage in sexual activities with men for money. He struck and bit her when she refused to engage in sex acts. Sterling faces up to 50 years in prison if convicted.