KISSIMMEE, Fla. — A Central Florida man was arrested Wednesday, accused by the federal government of violently forcing women to work in prostitution for his own financial gain.
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An indictment unsealed Thursday in Brooklyn Thursday charges 41-year-old Joel Forney of Kissimmee with the sex trafficking of multiple women and coercion and enticement of a minor.
According to court documents filed in the Eastern District of New York, the allegations against Forney date back to at least the summer of 2016 and continued through at least 2018, during which time investigators say Forney “regularly” trafficked women in Brooklyn and at least three other states through “force, fraud, and coercion.”
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Forney is also accused of trafficking women to work in prostitution in New York at a known open-air sex trafficking market along a stretch of Pennsylvania Ave. in Brooklyn known as “Penn Track.”
Investigators say Forney transported multiple women from New York to other states, including Connecticut and Missouri, intending to have them engage in sex work for his own financial benefit.
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According to court documents, though investigators say the time period for the charged crimes ends around 2017, the government believes Forney has continued to engage in sex trafficking activities since then, both on the Penn Track and in Florida, where he was ultimately arrested Wednesday.
Forney is formally charged with sex trafficking, interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution, and coercion and enticement of a minor.
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If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years with a maximum of up to life in prison.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New York Field Office is investigating the case.
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