5 Men, 1 Woman Charged In Alleged Prostitution & Rape Of L.I. Runaway Teen
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Five men and one woman in Queens were indicted Thursday on charges for allegedly prostituting and raping a 15-year-old runaway from Long Island.
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said the girl was picked up in Brooklyn on February 6 and taken to a house in Ozone Park, Queens. The alleged victim was allegedly held against her will in the home and forced to have intercourse and oral sex with numerous men, the DA's office said.
"This is a horrific case in which the victim, a young girl, is alleged to have survived a nightmarish ordeal that included being drugged, gang raped and forced to work as a prostitute. She is fortunate to have escaped. If convicted, the defendants deserve to be sentenced to lengthy terms in prison both as punishment and to send a clear message that crimes such as this will not be tolerated in Queens County," Brown said.
The teen was picked up while with a friend on Jerome Street in Brooklyn. Prosecutors said the victim was picked up in a vehicle by defendant Junior Goldring and another man, who has not been apprehended.
Brown said that defendant and purported ringleader, Gary Council, grabbed the victim by the arm and said "You're not going anywhere. You are going to stay here and make my money."
Council also allegedly introduced the alleged victim to the lone female defendant, Andrea Furlonge, and told her to "do what she had to do."
Furlonge allegedly took nude and partially nude photos of the victim and posted them on the website, backpage.com, to advertise prostitution services.
The alleged victim was also allegedly forced to take two ecstasy pills before being tied up and raped and sodomized by four of the defendants, including Council. Brown said that two others, including the unapprehended man were present in the room.
On February, 12, Council told the alleged victim to get him something from a store across the street from the home, but was she able to run away.
It is also alleged that the actual owner of the home, 63-year-old Tsung Chen, arrived at there on Jan. 21 and found the locks had been broken. He changed the locks and returned on Feb. 5 to found them broken again.
Chen said that Furlonge, Council and another defendant were living in the home and that none of them had permission to be there. It is alleged that the occupants then showed Chen and the police lease agreements allegedly between Council, Furlonge and McMillan and the leaseholder, who was identified in the papers as "Raymond Kelly."
Chen was allegedly later threatened and told by the defendants that they would leave only if they were paid $6,000 each.
Council has been indicted on charges of first-degree kidnapping, first-degree rape, first- and third-degree criminal sexual act, second-degree kidnapping, compelling prostitution, sex trafficking, second-degree burglary, second- and third-degree promoting prostitution, third-degree attempted grand larceny, third-degree rape, and endangering the welfare of a child.
If convicted, he faces 25 years to life in prison.
The other defendants include Furlonge, 21, Junior C. Goldring, 23, Omari A. Millington, 21, Renardo Williams, 22, Roy McMillan, 24. They face various charges including sex trafficking, compelling prostitution, rape, burglary and endangering the welfare of a child.
If convicted, McMillan faces up to 15 years in prison and the other defendants face up to 25 years in prison.
The six are scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Queens state Supreme Court.
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