A Florida man has been charged with sex trafficking multiple women and sexually assaulting a minor in New York.
Joel David Forney, 41, of Kissimmee, was charged with sex trafficking, interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution, and coercion and enticement of a minor.
Forney was arrested Wednesday.
According to the Department of Justice, Forney allegedly trafficked women to work in commercial sex in New York, including at an open-air sex trafficking market along a stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue in Brooklyn known as the Penn Track.
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Forney also transported women from New York to multiple other states, including Connecticut and Missouri, with the intent that they engage in commercial sex for his financial benefit. Forney is also charged with coercion and enticement of a minor.
According to the indictment, for years, Forney preyed on vulnerable women in tough financial circumstances by sex trafficking them, violently assaulting them, and subjecting them to constant threats of violence.
If convicted, Forney faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
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