Photo Courtesy of Google
The alleged assault took place at the Hillside Hotel.
By Forum Staff
A Cambria Heights man has been indicted by a Queens grand jury for allegedly pimping out his transgender girlfriend and then trying to kill her when she refused to continue selling sex to strangers to fill his wallet with cash, Chief Assistant District Attorney John Ryan, on behalf of Queens DA Richard Brown, announced on Thursday.
David Viltus, 30, was arraigned last Wednesday on a 12-count indictment charging him with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree attempted assault, second-degree assault, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, sex trafficking, second-degree promoting prostitution, first-degree criminal contempt, and fourth-degree witness tampering. Viltus was ordered held without bail and to return to court on July 15.
According to the charges, Viltus was arrested on April 19 when police responded to a 911 call from the Hillside Hotel in Jamaica. Cops found the victim, a 29-year-old transgender woman, beaten and cut. Viltus allegedly used a scalpel knife to slash the woman’s face, causing deep lacerations. Viltus allegedly punched her multiple times in the face, slammed a plant into her head and placed the victim in a headlock. The woman was thrown against an automated door, knocking the door off its hinges.
According to the charges, further investigation determined that the victim was allegedly being coerced into having sex with strangers for money that Viltus pocketed. When the woman refused to continue engaging in prostitution, Viltus allegedly reacted by striking her and choking her until she could barely breath.
According to the indictment, after his arrest last year, Viltus contacted the victim and tried to convince her to drop the charges.
“The victim—who was involved in an intimate relationship with the defendant—was allegedly brutally beaten by the man when she tried to stop prostituting herself for him. The woman’s face was slashed. She was repeatedly punched and choked out all because she didn’t want to have sex with strangers for cash anymore,” Ryan said. “This is not a victimless crime.”
If convicted, Viltus faces up to 25 years in prison.
