NY- A Queens Village pimp and his female companion were sentenced to serve prison time last week for promoting the prostitution of a North Carolina college student though a listing on Craig’s List Web site, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.
Carlton “Privilege” Simons, 25 of 227-33 113th Dr., was sentenced to two to six years in prison on Oct. 25 for luring a teenage mother from Charlotte to New York in January 2006, according to the DA. Simons’ accomplice, Shernett “Divine” Reevey, 24, of Charlotte, NC, was sentenced last Thursday to five years’ probation in addition to time served.
Simons and Reevey claimed they were agents for escorts and porn stars and that they would pay her $200 for going on dates with men and let her meet rap stars, according to the DA. When the victim arrived in New York, she was physically and verbally abused and forced to pose in provocative photos which were uploaded to craigslist.org.
“Prostitution is not a victimless crime but a terrifying and despicable offense against society practiced by callous jackals who enslave young women without hope and victimize them one day at a time,” Brown said in a statement.
The victim was forced to work as a prostitute between Jan. 22-24 at the Holiday Inn Express located at 153-70 S. Conduit Ave. and at a “track” that extended from Lexington Avenue to Park Avenue on 48th Street in Manhattan, according to the suspect’s court testimony. The victim gave Simons all of the money she made soliciting herself, the DA said.
On Jan. 25, 2006 Simons told the victim that a customer made an appointment through Craig’s List to meet her at the motel. That afternoon she met an undercover officer who posed as a customer and informed him that one hour of sex would cost $200, Brown said.
Police immediately issued search warrants of Simons’ car, where they found a “pimp’s rule book that stated that victim “needed to obey her daddy,” and a computer that was used to upload the victim’s photo. When Simons was arrested, he was wearing a belt buckle that spelled out “PIMP” according to the DA.
“The defendants have now been punished for their crimes of luring a young lady from her home in North Carolina for promises of the easy life,” Brown said.