By Forum Staff
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on Thursday that a Long Island man has pleaded guilty to his role in three incidents in which he enticed victims to go to a location for sex, then detained, assaulted and robbed them with the help of a female co-defendant.
Gil Iphael, 25, pleaded guilty on Thursday to two counts of kidnapping in the second degree, two counts of robbery in the first degree and one count of promoting prostitution in the second degree.
Iphael’s co-defendant, Destiny Lebron, pleaded guilty in 2023 and was sentenced to 13 years in prison to be followed by five years’ post-release supervision.
According to the charges, on July 30, 2022, Iphael and Lebron went to pick up a woman whom Lebron has befriended on Instagram a few months earlier. The two had exchanged messages of a sexual nature and photos and engaged in prostitution-related conversations. In July 2022, when Lebron asked her to engage in prostitution, the victim declined. Lebron continued to call and message the victim over two days and the two agreed to meet.
Iphael and Lebron took the woman to the Quality Inn Hotel at 153-95 Rockaway Blvd., where the woman was told that she would have to either help Iphael and Lebron rob victims lured there by Lebron posing as a prostitute, or she would have to engage in prostitution herself and turn over her profits to the defendants.
When the victim again refused, Iphael and Lebron slapped, punched and threatened her. They forced the victim to take pictures of herself and used photos saved in her phone for online prostitution ads. That evening, several clients appeared at the hotel and engaged in prostitution activity with the victim. Iphael and Lebron kept all proceeds collected from the clients.
On Aug. 6, 2022, another victim, a man in his 50s, answered a prostitution ad featuring a photo of Lebron and met her in a hotel room. After the victim had paid her to have sex and began to undress, Lebron threw bleach in his face. She opened the door to let in Iphael, who covered the victim’s head with a blanket and began punching him and demanding money.
Iphael and Lebron restrained the victim and continued assaulting him for several hours. The defendants took the victim’s car keys, phone and wallet. When the victim refused to unlock his phone, Lebron burned him with a curling iron until he complied.
The defendants attempted to transfer the victim’s money electronically before making multiple trips to ATM machines to make withdrawals from the victim’s account using his bank card. They also stole the man’s car.
On Aug. 14, 2022, a third victim, a man in his 20s, answered a prostitution ad featuring a photo of Lebron. The man was instructed to meet Lebron at a location in Queens. Once there, after the victim had agreed to pay her to have sex and began to undress, Iphael and Lebron beat the man, attempted to cut off his toe and threatened to cut off his genitals.
The defendants took turns taking the victim’s debit card and going to a nearby ATM to withdraw money. The defendants took the victim’s wallet, debit card, driver’s license, money and other personal items.
Supreme Court Justice Peter Vallone is expected to sentence Iphael on March 4 to 20 years in prison and five years’ post-release supervision.
