Jamaica man gets up to 10 years for pimping teen girl

By Jonathan Sperling

A Jamaica man who forced a 16-year-old girl into prostitution — while taking all of the proceeds for himself — has been sentenced to up to a decade in prison, Acting Queens District Attorney John Ryan announced Monday.

Lance Hamilton, 27, first met the unidentified victim in December 2015 and, within three months, began forcing her to have sex with strangers for money. Throughout the ordeal, Hamilton pocketed all of the proceeds and imposed daily quotas for the teen to meet.

When the teenager refused to work, Hamilton would react by punching and choking her, going as far as to pull a gun on her at one point. He allowed the victim to leave in April 2016, only after learning she had become pregnant.

Hamilton was sentenced to five to 10 years in prison by Justice Peter Vallone Jr.

“The defendant forced an underage girl into prostitution and assaulted her when she tried to stop having sex with strangers for money. Prostitution is not a victimless crime,” Ryan said in a statement. “The defendant used this teenage girl to line his own pocket with cash. The defendant is now going to prison as a result of his actions.”

Ryan also noted that Hamilton would sometimes make the victim walk down Sutphin Boulevard in Jamaica in order to solicit customers. He also posted explicit photos of her on Backpage.com.

Hamilton pleaded guilty in January to one charge of sex trafficking.