A 45-year-old Bronx man who trafficked a 15-year-old girl through New York City hotel rooms and out-of-state trips is heading to federal prison for nearly two decades.
On Monday in federal court in Brooklyn, U.S. District Judge Hector Gonzalez sentenced Hadrian Crichlow to 210 months in prison for sex trafficking a minor and ordered him to pay $12,000 in restitution. Prosecutors say the girl was 15 at the time and that Crichlow forced her to meet commercial sex customers multiple times per day in hotel rooms across New York City and in other states, keeping control through isolation, dependency, drugging and sexual violence until she escaped in October 2023.
In a press release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York said Crichlow pleaded guilty in December 2025. The office’s Human Trafficking and Civil Rights Section prosecuted the case.
How prosecutors say he operated
According to prosecutors, Crichlow exploited a 15-year-old unhoused runaway between September and October 2023, advertising her in online sex ads and driving her to hotels around the city and to other states to meet paying customers. The details laid out in court were stark: he tightly controlled her movements, barred her from having or using a cellphone unless he was present, and required her to hand over every dollar she earned from commercial sex.
“Sex trafficking is a crime that strips victims of their freedom, dignity, and safety,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said in a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. Prosecutors say Crichlow’s use of drugs, isolation and sexual violence helped him maintain control until the teenager managed to get away in October 2023.
Court details and local coverage
The case is listed as E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 25-CR-120 (HG), and was handled by the Eastern District’s Human Trafficking and Civil Rights Section. Local coverage by the Brooklyn Eagle highlighted the more than 17-year sentence, the victim’s age and the $12,000 restitution order, as well as Nocella’s statement on the harm caused by trafficking.
Federal prosecutors say the stiff sentence reflects both the seriousness and the profit-driven nature of the crime. Advocates, meanwhile, have stressed that holding traffickers criminally accountable is only one piece of the puzzle, and that survivors also need robust services and long-term support once cases wrap up. Authorities are urging anyone with information about potential trafficking situations to contact law enforcement to help prevent further abuse.
Legal note
Crichlow pleaded guilty to federal sex-trafficking charges involving a minor, offenses that carry severe penalties and allow judges to order restitution for victims’ losses. According to the court, he will remain in federal custody while the sentence and restitution order are implemented and any post-conviction procedures move forward.
