By Philip Newman
A 24-year-old Ozone Park man has pleaded guilty to sex trafficking for forcing a teen-age girl into prostitution beginning when she was 16 to endure a life in which her resistance brought only verbal and physical abuse, the Queens DA said.
“The defendant enslaved a young girl, forced her to work as a prostitute and turn her earnings over to him,” said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.
Brown identified the defendant as Shawn Hawkins, 24, of South Ozone Park, Queens. Hawkins pleaded guilty April 20 to sex trafficking before Acting Queens Supreme Court Justice Gia Morris, who indicated that she would sentence the defendant to an indeterminate term of two to six years in prison June 1.
Brown said that in pleading guilty, Hawkins admitted that he took the then 16-year-old victim to various Queens locations between Aug. 14, 2014 and Feb. 2, 2017 where she was forced to have sexual intercourse and/or oral sex with men in exchange for money. She was required to turn over her earnings to Hawkins, who demanded that she call him “Daddy,” Brown said.
Hawkins also took her identification from her at times to force her to engage in prostitution, according to the DA.
The victim said she feared Hawkins would hurt or kill her.
