Human Trafficking Crimes Lead To Prison For NJ Man

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TRENTON, NJ — A Trenton man has been sentenced to time in prison for his role in an operation that sold underage girls for sex on an online classified advertising website, Mercer County Prosecutor Janetta D. Marbrey said.

On May 12, Al-Tariq Mitchell, 28, was sentenced to an aggregate term of 22 years in state prison by Mercer County Superior Court Judge Adam J. Hughes.

Mitchell must serve a minimum of 15 years of that sentence before he is parole eligible.

In addition to his sentence, Mitchell was also ordered to register as a sex offender under Megan's Law and is subject to parole supervision for life, Marbrey said.

Mitchell's sentencing comes after he entered guilty pleas to one count of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, two counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, one count of first-degree advertising commercial sex abuse of a minor, and one count of second-degree witness tampering in June 2024, shortly after his jury trial began.

He was arrested in January 2017 by Trenton Police and charged with human trafficking offenses.

The Mercer County Prosecutor's Office filed a motion to detain him pending trial; however, he was released from custody following a detention hearing in accordance with the Criminal Justice Reform Act.

In May 2017, he was arrested again for committing new child trafficking crimes, Marbrey said.

An investigation by the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Special Victims Unit and the Trenton Police Department revealed that Mitchell forced multiple children (between the ages of 12 and 16) into sexual slavery at various points during 2017.

In a New Year’s Day 2017 incident, prosecutors said he gave a 16-year-old girl a cell phone to advertise for sex online and rented a motel room.

In a March 2017 incident, he was charged with holding a 12-year-old girl against her will, forcing her to have sex with him multiple times, and arranging for the girl to have sex with other men who answered his online ad to go on a date with the victim, Marbrey said.

In a May 2017 incident, he befriended a 15-year-old girl, then threatened her and forced her to have sex with him, authorities said.

He was charged with taking nude photos of her to post online, setting up dates with the men who responded to the online ads, and keeping all the money she was paid.

Mitchell was also charged with sexually assaulting a runaway 15-year-old foster child at a Monmouth Place prostitution house in Trenton.

After the investigation revealed Mitchell to be the main actor behind the child prostitution operation, his co-defendant, Daquan Patton, pleaded guilty to promoting prostitution, Marbrey said.

Patton is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday, May 29.

Marbrey acknowledged the agencies involved in this case, including the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, the Trenton Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

She specifically recognized lead Detective Alicia Bergondo of the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit.

“Detective Bergondo worked this complex, sensitive case from inception and in its entirety for more than nine years,” Marbrey said. “She provided vital stability, security, support and compassion to these young victims, and her hard work and dedication was key to attaining the justice they deserved.”