Brooklyn Man Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison For Conspiring To Sex Traffic Minor Victims

 Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and Dermot Shea, Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced that ANTHONY YOUNG, a/k/a “Royalty,” was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for conspiring to sex traffic minor victims.  YOUNG’s sentence was imposed by United States District Judge Sidney H. Stein, before whom he previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to sex traffic minor victims.  As part of his plea, YOUNG acknowledged that he conspired to traffic two minor females.

Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said:  “In violation of federal criminal law, Anthony Young had sex with two minors and further sexually abused and exploited them by directing them to engage in commercial sex, keeping the proceeds for himself.  For his callous and abusive conduct, Young has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.”

FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said:  “Luring children into the sex trade, and then physically abusing those children, is beyond contemptible. Now that Mr. Young is thankfully bound for a federal prison cell, he’ll no longer be able to abuse our most vulnerable population.  Our FBI/NYPD Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force members do extremely difficult and emotionally draining work each day, but saving even one child from being victimized by a predator provides some light at the end of a very dark tunnel.  Please call us at 1-800-CALL-FBI if you know anyone who may need our help.”

Commissioner Dermot Shea said:  “Today’s sentencing underscores the importance of our work to stop anyone who would sexually abuse and exploit minors.  I commend our FBI/NYPD Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, and all of our law-enforcement partners, for working tirelessly to seek justice and for helping these victims get the services they need.”

According to the Indictment and other court documents filed in Manhattan federal court:

YOUNG worked with others to lure two minor females, who had not yet turned 16 years old, into the commercial sex trade on the pretense of romance.  More than 10 years older than his victims, YOUNG had sex with them, took sexually suggestive pictures of them, advertised them for commercial sex, and told them how much they should charge for commercial sex acts. YOUNG arranged for his victims to be transported to various hotels to engage in commercial sex acts, and then he kept all the proceeds from these sex acts for himself.   

*                      *                     *

In addition to his prison sentence, YOUNG, 34, was sentenced to 10 years of supervised release.

Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), and in particular, the FBI-NYPD Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.  She also thanked the Kings County District Attorney’s Office, the New York City Department of Correction, and the New York City Human Resources Administration for their assistance in this matter.  

The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit.  Assistant United States Attorneys Rushmi Bhaskaran and Sarah Mortazavi are in charge of the prosecution.