A woman was allegedly abducted from the Atlantic City Boardwalk, raped and forced into prostitution, according to federal charges in New York.
David Williams, 35, is accused of running a sex-trafficking enterprise whose victims also included a 14-year-old girl.
“It is reprehensible that a person would forcibly coerce another human being into sex and seek to profit from it, and for allegedly doing so, Williams now faces life in prison,” said Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. “Human trafficking continues to be a priority for this office, and I commend the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force for aggressively pursuing cases to bring sexual predators to justice.”
The 20-year-old victim was somewhere on the Atlantic City Boardwalk on Feb. 6, 2019, when she was approached by Williams, who called himself “Pap,” according to the federal complaint.
Williams and “Juli” — a not-yet-named alleged co-conspirator — invited the woman to smoke marijuana with them in their car where there was also a driver.
The woman agreed, but when she tried to leave, the door was locked and she was told she “would not be going anywhere or there would be consequences,” according to the complaint.
The driver drove the three to the Bronx, where the victim was taken to a hotel room and forced to undress and pose for nude photos that were later used for advertisements on megapersonals.com, the charges claim.
Williams raped the woman at gunpoint and forced her to perform a sex act on “Juli,” the complaint states.
For the next week, the woman was force to go on dates and was threatened with violence.
On Feb. 13, she was able to escape after she was left alone in a hotel room with a cell phone Williams and his co-conspirator used to communicate with customers. She called 911, and was taken to the hospital.
During her time with Williams, the woman met the underage victim, but only knew her by an alias.
The 14-year-old was recruited by “Juli” sometime in December 2018.
She was advertised on megapersonals.com with descriptions indicating she was “barely legal.”
In addition to forcing her to go on dozens of “dates,” Williams also demanded the girl have sex with him, the complaint alleges.The girl complied because she was scared.
Williams told her he was a Bloods gang member and that he had a gun.
He is now charged with conspiracy to commit sex-trafficking, sex trafficking, sex trafficking of a minor, coercion and enticement under the Mann Act, coercion and enticement of a minor under the Mann Act, and kidnapping.
He is being held in federal custody.
