During a recent press conference, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced a significant development in a sex trafficking case involving 38-year-old Alfredo Morocho. Morocho has pleaded guilty to multiple charges in connection with the trafficking of a 17-year-old undocumented girl earlier this year. The charges against him include two counts of child sex trafficking and five counts of prostitution in the second and third degrees. He is set to be sentenced on the 24th, with a potential prison term of up to eight years hanging over him.
The Queens District Attorney’s office revealed that Morocho, a resident of 110th Street in Corona, first encountered the teenage girl at a restaurant in Jamaica. During their conversation, he inquired if she and her friends were interested in work. When she disclosed her age, Morocho proposed that he could assist her in finding clients for prostitution.
He further instructed her to send him semi-nude photos for advertising purposes. Beginning in December of the previous year, Morocho would pick her up from a shelter and transport her to various locations, including a nearby apartment at 43-18 108th Street, where they engaged in sexual transactions and split the earnings.
The situation escalated on March 6, when Morocho took the girl to the Flushing Renaissance Hotel in Tangram for a sexual encounter. Unbeknownst to him, an undercover officer from the NYPD’s Human Trafficking Squad was present. After negotiating the terms of the transaction with the girl, the officer gathered enough evidence to arrest Morocho.
In court, before Judge Peter Vallone Jr., Morocho admitted his guilt to two counts of child sex trafficking, five counts of prostitution in the second and third degrees, and two counts of coercing another to engage in prostitution. He awaits sentencing on the 24th, where he could face a significant prison term.
