Couple charged in Queens child prostitution case

A couple has been hit with child sex trafficking charges. Eagle file photo by David Brand

By Rachel Vick

A couple has been indicted for allegedly sex trafficking a 16-year-old girl in Queens and outside the state in November 2020, District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Wednesday.

Jamael “Tiny Biz” Whittingham and Shaneya “China” James are facing charges including for forcing the minor to have sex with strangers and meet a $500 a day minimum.

“As alleged, the two defendants in this case used a teenager below the age of

consent to enrich themselves,” Katz said. “Sadly, this is yet another example of why I created a Human Trafficking Bureau when I became DA.”

After promising the girl that she would make money and buying her clothes, the couple allegedly brought her to New Jersey, JFK Inn Hotel in Jamaica and motels in North Carolina before being freed.

She was brought back to Brooklyn after repeatedly asking for an out and being denied by the couple, who told her she owed them money.

James fled the state after the warrant for her arrest was issued and was found in Annapolis, Maryland, according to Katz.

The duo has been charged with sex trafficking of a child, sex trafficking, compelling

prostitution, promoting prostitution in the second degree and endangering the welfare of a child and face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.