BROOKLYN, NY – Joel David Forney, alias ‘Sirbar’, was convicted by a federal jury in Brooklyn for sex-trafficking and coercion of women at the notorious Penn Track market. The defendant exploited two women at the open-air sex trafficking hub on Pennsylvania Avenue in East New York and transported a woman across state lines to engage in prostitution.
Forney, 31 at the time, was also found guilty of coercing and enticing a minor into sexual intercourse in 2014. Sentencing could see a mandatory minimum of 15 years up to life in prison.
The trial before United States District Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto took five days. United States Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr., Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, and FBI Assistant Director Christopher G. Raia announced the verdict, emphasizing the Office’s commitment to pursuing sex traffickers.
Assistant Attorney General Dhillon highlighted the defendant’s use of violence and threats to compel victims into commercial sex acts. FBI Assistant Director Raia emphasized the FBI’s intolerance for those who seek profit from sexual abuse, noting Forney’s cruel punishment and threats to his trafficking victims.
Evidence showed Forney used false promises and physical abuse to force women into sex work, including a chilling display of a dismembered woman’s image to terrify. He also enticed a minor through romantic texts and offered money before sexually abusing her at 31 years old while she was no more than 15.
Survivors of Forney’s actions are encouraged to contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 for support.
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Key Facts
- State: New York
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Violent Crime|Sex Crimes|Human Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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