A federal jury in the Eastern District of New York convicted Joel David Forney, 42, of Kissimmee, Florida, on two counts of sex trafficking and related charges, officials announced last week.
Forney trafficked two women for commercial sex in New York, including at Brooklyn’s open-air “Penn Track” sex market, and transported one victim across several states for his financial gain. He was also found guilty of coercion and enticement of a minor for having sex with a teenager when he was 31.
“The jury found that Forney used violence and threats to compel women to engage in commercial sex acts at the Penn Track for his own profit, and enticed a vulnerable minor into having sex with him,” said U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. for the Eastern District of New York.
A trial revealed that Forney used false promises to recruit women into a trafficking network, forcing them to have sex with multiple men daily for money he kept.
Women who refused faced physical abuse and threats of harm or death. Evidence also showed Forney lured a third victim, then 15 years old, to his home through romantic texts, had sex with her while he was 31, and later implied recruiting her for commercial sex.
A sentencing hearing will be scheduled, with Forney facing 15 years to life in prison and mandatory restitution.
The FBI investigated, aided by the NYPD Child Exploitation Human Trafficking Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Elbert and Antoinette N. Rangel and Trial Attorney Leah Branch are prosecuting the case.