Photo Courtesy of Forgotten NY
According to the district attorney, the victim was brought to Hamilton’s home on Foch Boulevard by a friend and sexually assaulted.
By Forum Staff
The Queens grand jury has indicted another sex trafficker, this time a 27-year-old Queens man who will face multiple charges including sex trafficking, rape, promoting prostitution and other charges after he forced a 15-year-old-girl into having sex in exchange for money he pocketed.
District Attorney Brown said, “The defendant is accused of forcing a teenage girl into having sex dates with men for money. I want to stress that prostitution is not a victimless crime. Sex trafficking is an incessant act of brutality and degradation. This teenage girl was finally released but will live with this horrible experience for the rest of her life.”
The defendant is identified as Lance Hamilton, of Foch Boulevard in Jamaica. He was arraigned on a 45-count indictment charging him with first- and second-degree kidnapping, second- and third-degree promoting prostitution, compelling prostitution, sex trafficking, second-degree assault, third-degree rape, criminal sexual act, first-degree unlawful imprisonment, second-degree menacing, aggravated harassment, criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation and endangering the welfare of a child.
The defendant was ordered held on $750,000 bail and to return to court on May 8, 2017. If convicted, Hamilton faces up to 25 years in prison.
Authorities say the 15-year-old victim was brought to Hamilton’s home in December 2015 by a friend and was sexually assaulted by him at the time. Hamilton then stole the victim’s belongings and identification and, over the course of several months, forced her to have sex in exchange for money, which she had to turn over to him.
Hamilton posted prostitution advertisements of the victim on the Backpage.com website. When the victim refused to engage in prostitution, Hamilton repeatedly punched and choked her, and then on one occasion, he threatened her with a gun inside his home.
