Queens, NY – Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Valezka Echeverrias has been arraigned on charges of sex trafficking and other crimes for allegedly coercing a transgender woman into prostitution on Roosevelt Avenue and demanding weekly payments. When the victim wished to cease these activities, Echeverrias reportedly threatened her with a knife to extort money.
Additional charges in the indictment include grand larceny, robbery, and extortion involving two victims, during which Echeverrias allegedly used a knife to further intimidate them and steal their phones.
District Attorney Katz emphasized the severity of the allegations, noting the use of threats to exploit one victim and terrorize another for personal gain. She highlighted the creation of the Human Trafficking Bureau as part of the ongoing effort to combat such abuses.
Echeverrias, a 30-year-old resident of Jackson Heights, is charged with 24 crimes, including four counts of sex trafficking, grand larceny, coercion, promoting prostitution, robbery, menacing, criminal mischief, and criminal contempt.
Supreme Court Justice Peter Vallone has remanded Echeverrias and ordered her to appear in court in December.