Crime & Safety

Four Men Charged With Sex Trafficking and Rape of 13-Year-Old Girl

Defendants could have victimized other young women, DA says.

A young woman allegedly forced into prostitution starting at age 13 was at the center of a case announced Wednesday against four men accused of sex trafficking and rape, according to Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes. 

Three of the men already were in custody. A fourth suspect, Damien Crooks, 31, who allegedly first met the victim in a Brooklyn park in 2003, was arrested this morning, Hynes said.

The victim came forward after allegedly enduring years of forced prostitution and sexual abuse when one of the suspects threatened an unspecified member of her family.

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"That's when she realized she had no choice but to say something," said Lauren Hersh, chief of the Brooklyn DA's Sex Trafficking Unit, who added that the victim's family was in protective custody.

According to CBS 2, the victim is now a student at John Jay College in Manhattan, where she reported the incidents to a professor. 

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Crooks and co-defendant Jamali Brockett, 27, were charged with rape stemming from the initial meeting with the victim in 2003 and numerous times afterward, according to the Brooklyn DA.

Crooks has also been charged with two counts of sex trafficking. Brockett also faces a charge of compelling prostitution. 

Two other defendants, Jawara Brockett, 33, and Darrell Dula, 24, are charged with rape. 

Hynes said there was a possibility that there could be other victims related to the case who still have not come forward.

"We have reason to believe that the defendants have victimized other young women in Brooklyn," Hynes said. "And we appeal to them, or anyone who knows them, to call us."

If convicted, the defendants could see up to 25 years in prison on each rape charge. Prosecutors said they would pursue consecutive sentencing in the case.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Brooklyn Sex Trafficking Unit Hotline at 718-250-2770.


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