In a recent crackdown on sex trafficking in New York, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz has announced the indictment of two men. According to the Queens District Attorney's office, Xu Cheng Sun and Jingchao Zhang have been charged with sex trafficking, promoting prostitution, and a bevy of related crimes after allegedly trafficking a Chinese woman in an East Flushing brothel.
The victim, who had come to the US in November, was reportedly kept in a house with other women, her cash and valuables stripped from her. She was coerced into prostitution and held against her will. "These defendants are charged with treating a woman as if she were property and forcing her to engage in prostitution," Katz said in a statement obtained by the Queens District Attorney's office.
Details from the indictment reveal a sordid scene where, on January 31, an undercover officer was directed to a location on 162nd Street, where he was then led to a bedroom by two women who agreed to exchange sex for cash. However, this transaction was a setup, allowing law enforcement to intervene. Sun tried to escape by jumping out of a window but was later captured alongside codefendant Peilong Tang, with the officers uncovering a loaded 9 mm Smith & Wesson pistol at the scene.
One of the women, aged 43, shared her chilling narrative with investigators. She detailed her arrival at JFK Airport and how she was taken, along with several others, to an undisclosed house where she was subsequently assaulted. Later, she was shuffled between Brooklyn and Queens, forced to work in prostitution, and threatened with violence. The woman described overhearing conversations about being sold and experiencing the violation of having her passport confiscated. Zhang was arrested on January 31 following this undercover operation.
As the legal proceedings unfold, the community watches closely, with Sun facing up to 25 years in prison if convicted and Zhang awaiting arraignment on additional charges. Assistant District Attorneys Marina Arshakyan is spearheading the prosecution, working under the supervision of Bureau Chief Jessica Melton and backed by Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations, Gerard A. Brave. These unfolding cases are stark reminders of the persistent plague of human trafficking that still operates in the shadows of our city's bustling streets.
