Queens cops arrested for robbing sex worker
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Two NYPD officers were arrested and arraigned in Queens Criminal Court this week and accused of robbing and groping a sex worker in Jackson Heights. Eagle file photo by Walter Karling
By Noah Powelson
Two Queens police officers robbed and groped a woman working in an illegal brothel while they were on duty, prosecutors alleged on Monday.
NYPD officers Justin McMillan and Justin Colon, who are currently suspended, surrendered themselves to the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau after an investigation into an accusation that they robbed a sex worker in July 2024 in Jackson Heights.
The cops were handcuffed and escorted to Queens Criminal Court on Monday, where they were charged with second-degree robbery, forcible touching and official misconduct. They pleaded not guilty to all counts.
The arrest of the two cops comes as Mayor Eric Adams has sent additional police officers into Jackson Heights and its Roosevelt Avenue corridor in response to increased complaints of brothels, illegal vending and crime, in general.
As alleged by the Queens district attorney’s office, McMillan and Colon responded to a 311 call on July 19, after someone reported that a brothel was operating inside a residential house on 89th Street near Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights. The pair arrived at the location initially with their body cameras on and recording.
While outside the house, one of the officers allegedly said “I don’t see anything,” before they turned off their cameras.
With their cameras off, the two lingered around the building when they saw a woman exiting a side door, according to prosecutors. They then allegedly approached the woman, blocked the side door from closing and motioned the woman to follow them inside the building.
They eventually came to a locked interior door, at which point McMillan and Colon took the woman’s bag and dumped it on the floor, according to the charges.
The officers took some keys from the woman’s bag while she fled the area, according to the DA’s office. McMillan and Colon then left the building and continued their foot patrol without reporting the incident.
Eight hours later, McMillan and Colon allegedly returned to the building still in uniform with their cameras deactivated and without notifying any superiors what they were doing. They used the keys taken earlier in the day to enter the building, where they found a woman engaged in prostitution with an unidentified man, the DA said. The man fled as soon as he saw the officers.
McMillan allegedly took the woman’s purse, stole some money and groped her. The woman fled and called 911.
McMillan and Colon then returned to the precinct house without reporting the incident or filling out any paperwork, prosecutors said.
“The allegations in this case are an affront to the shield worn by the countless police officers who serve and protect the residents of this city,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement.
“The defendants, both sworn NYPD officers, are accused of using their authority to break into a building, steal money and forcibly touch a woman while on duty, with their body-worn cameras intentionally turned off so that their misdeeds would not be recorded,” she added. “I thank the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau for their crucial assistance in bringing charges against the two defendants, both of whom are now indicted and face justice in our courts.”
The investigation was carried out by the IAB, which has been aware of the incident since the night it occurred. McMillan and Colon were placed on modified duty a month later in August 2024.
The defendants were in negotiation with the DA’s office last weekend, and agreed to surrender themselves on Monday.
Prosecutors said during the arraignment they have at least one witness who identified both men.
“Wearing the uniform of a New York City Police Officer is one of the highest privileges in law enforcement, and the legitimacy of that work is based on the public’s trust,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a statement. “So when that trust is broken, as it was in this case, the entire police department must answer for it. We hold our officers to the highest standard of professionalism and integrity, and failing to meet that standard is disqualifying.”
“Let me be perfectly clear: Any officer who violates their oath will be investigated, exposed, and held fully accountable. That standard will never change,” Tisch added.
Both defendants’ attorneys said their clients deny any wrongdoing and “have every intention of fighting these allegations.”
Supreme Court Justice Jessica Earle-Gargan ordered the defendants to return to court April 28. Despite the DA’s call to have the defendants’ passports seized, Earle-Gargan said no evidence was presented showing the pair were a flight risk and denied the motion.
McMillan, a 27-year-old from Atlantic Beach in Nassau, has been stationed at the 115th precinct, which covers Jackson Heights, since October 2023.
Colon, a 24-year-old from Long Island City was assigned to the 115th precinct in January 2024.
If convicted, McMillan and Colon face a potential maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
The illegal brothel was located near Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights, which has gained attention over the past several years for its alleged increase in prostitution and sex trafficking.
In October of 2024, the mayor launched a police operation dubbed “Operation Restore Roosevelt” that implemented a sweeping crackdown of illegal brothels and vendors in the area. Nearly a thousand people were arrested last year as part of the three-month operation that included 134 prostitution offenses.
The incident involving McMillan and Colon occurred months before Operation Restore Roosevelt was carried out.
Some community leaders, led by local district leader Hiram Monserrate, have called on the city for further police presence and raids.
“Prostitution and human trafficking have become the norm on Roosevelt Avenue and now this
incident of police corruption followed,” Monserrate said in a statement Monday. “While we respect the presumption of innocence in our judicial system, everyone is accountable before the law. This indictment will serve only to erode trust. I know many of our local officers and I know they do great work, but this revelation is chilling.”
Some lawmakers, including City Councilmember Shekar Krishnan and State Assemblymember Catalina Cruz, have called for alternative solutions that avoid further arrests of the area’s largely immigrant community, such as funding community, family and immigrant services.
