QUEENS, N.Y. – A married couple from Elmhurst and an alleged accomplice have been indicted on sex trafficking charges for coercing a Colombian woman into prostitution inside a Flushing apartment while holding her children’s passports and dangling the promise of reuniting her family, prosecutors said Tuesday.
District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Kwai Ling Chan, 47, Bobby Chen, 38, and Tashi Chimchu, 34, face multiple counts of sex trafficking and promoting prostitution after an NYPD undercover operation shut down the alleged brothel at 43-17 Union Street earlier this month.
According to the indictment, Chan arranged a $14,000 “fee” to bring the victim’s 10-year-old daughter to New York from Colombia. Prosecutors say the victim was told she could repay the debt by working as a masseuse but was later threatened and forced into sex with clients against her will.
Chan allegedly took the passports of the victim and her 6-year-old daughter already in the U.S., withholding them as leverage. When the victim initially refused a client’s demand for sex, Chan warned her that her older daughter would never be allowed into the country and made threats involving her younger child.
Between July 6 and September 4, the woman was forced into prostitution several days a week, with money turned over to Chan or Chen, prosecutors said. Chimchu allegedly joined in late August, arranging appointments, negotiating payments, and collecting proceeds for the couple. Officers who arrested him on September 4 also recovered a pepper spray ball gun.
Chen was taken into custody the following morning when he arrived at the precinct to check on his wife, authorities said.
Chan and Chen were arraigned on six counts of sex trafficking and multiple promoting prostitution charges. Chimchu was indicted on three counts of sex trafficking and additional charges including unlawful possession of noxious material.
Supreme Court Justice Peter Vallone ordered Chan and Chen back in court on November 12. If convicted of the top count, all three face up to 25 years in prison.
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