Queens man indicted for sex trafficking and rape after months-long abuse of 25-year-old woman
Queens, NY – A 35-year-old man from Jamaica, Queens has been indicted on multiple felony charges after prosecutors say he trafficked, raped, and repeatedly assaulted a 25-year-old woman he recruited under false pretenses, then subjected her to months of violence and exploitation.
Leighton Jennings was arraigned Thursday in Queens Supreme Court on a seven-count indictment that includes charges of sex trafficking, rape, strangulation, and promoting prostitution. Prosecutors say Jennings manipulated the victim with false promises of housing and childcare, then forced her into prostitution, keeping all her earnings while allegedly using threats, violence, and sexual abuse to control her.
The indictment stems from a disturbing sequence of events that began in July 2024, when Jennings allegedly met the victim while she was living in a temporary shelter and engaging in prostitution in Brooklyn. He offered to help her get housing and take care of her infant if she gave him her earnings—ranging from $500 to $1,000 a day in cash or electronic transfers.
Instead, Jennings allegedly moved the woman into an apartment in Pomonok Houses that he shared with a disabled adult and refused to allow her child to live there. He then subjected her to routine physical abuse and, at times, allegedly raped her while she slept. Between July 2024 and May 2025, he forced her to continue working in prostitution at locations in Queens and Brooklyn while confiscating all her earnings.
On May 31, the abuse escalated when Jennings allegedly wrapped his arm around the victim’s neck during an argument and choked her until she lost consciousness. She later filed a police report on June 20, and Jennings was arrested on July 11.
He is charged with three counts of sex trafficking, two counts of third-degree rape, second-degree strangulation, and promoting prostitution. Queens Supreme Court Justice Peter F. Vallone Jr. ordered him held and scheduled him to return to court today.
If convicted, Jennings faces up to 25 years in prison.
The case was investigated by members of the NYPD Human Trafficking Squad and the NYPD/FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.
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Key Points
- Leighton Jennings of Queens is charged with trafficking and raping a 25-year-old woman over a span of nearly a year
- Prosecutors say he used coercion, abuse, and false promises to force her into prostitution and took all her earnings
- Jennings allegedly strangled the victim until she passed out and was later arrested in July