Edited by: TJVNews.com
New York officials have announced the indictment of a Bronx couple who operated a sex trafficking ring since 2018, according to a News 12 report.
The Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Jr. has said that 38-year-old Kareem Mitchell, a.k.a. “Napoleon”, and his wife 51-year-old Sharice Mitchell were indicted Wednesday for running a sex trafficking operation involving at least eight women since 2018.
Referring to court documents, Kareem ran the operation between November 2018 and February 2022.
According to Bragg, two of those women were place in Sharice’s care as a certified foster parent. Officials say Sharice lied on her application to become a foster parent.
The New York Times reported that at least two of the eight women pushed into prostitution were Sharice Mitchell’s foster children. Both defendants were charged in State Supreme Court in Manhattan with multiple counts of sex trafficking and with fourth-degree conspiracy and pleaded not guilty.
Authorities told the NYT that Kareem Mitchell recruited women through social media and then used physical and verbal abuse to coerce them into prostitution in cars and hotels in Manhattan, as well as in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.
Lauren Breen, an assistant district attorney said that Sharice Mitchell agreed to serve as a foster parent for at least two of the women, and that they were placed in her home in the Bronx. Within a month, one of the women appeared in an online advertisement for prostitution, as was reported by the NYT.
In a press release, Manhattan DA Bragg said: “Sex traffickers target the most vulnerable New Yorkers, including – far too often – young New Yorkers in the child welfare system. As alleged, instead of providing a safe home, this husband and wife forced eight young women to engage in prostitution. We will continue to prioritize proactive investigations like these to dismantle sex trafficking operations and keep New Yorkers safe.”
Kareem Mitchell is a registered sex offender stemming from his 2008 federal conviction for transportation of a minor to engage in prostitution and other related charges, was assisted in his trafficking operation by his wife.
The Times also reported that a spokesman for the Administration for Children’s Services said the agency was prohibited by state law from sharing information about individual cases, but he said, “We are immediately reviewing the allegations made by the Manhattan D.A. and are fully cooperating in the investigation.”
Robert Levy, an attorney representing Sharice Mitchell said in the courtroom that prosecutors had not demonstrated that his client was involved in the trafficking, and that other than her involvement in the foster care system, there was “nothing else to connect her with these very serious charges,” as was reported by the NYT.
The Mitchells were arrested separately on Wednesday, according to the Times report. Sharice Mitchell was taken into custody at her home in the Bronx, while Kareem Mitchell was arrested after leaving an area known to be used for prostitution and returning to a hotel room where he had been staying, prosecutors said. A handgun was recovered from the hotel room, prosecutors also said, as was reported by the NYT.
The judge presiding over the case ordered that Kareem Mitchell be held without bail, and that Sharice Mitchell be held on $500,000 cash bail, $1.5 million insurance company bond and $2 million partially secured bond, according to the NYT report.
Assistant D.A.s Lauren Breen and Meaghan Dunigan are handling the prosecution of the case under the supervision of Assistant D.A.s Pierre Griffith (Deputy Chief of the Human Trafficking Response Unit), Justin McNabney (Deputy Chief of the Human Trafficking Response Unit), and Andrew Warshawer (Deputy Chief of the Trial Division), as well as Executive Assistant D.A. Joyce Smith (Chief of the Trial Division).
