Man Pleads Guilty To Trafficking Girl, 16, For Sex In Bergen, Passaic Counties

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — A Newark man who reportedly ran a prostitution ring with his wife pleaded guilty to trafficking a girl to motels South Hackensack and Clifton so she could have sex with clients, authorities announced.

Glen Bowman Sr., 42, pleaded guilty to first-degree conspiracy to commit human trafficking before Bergen County Superior Court Judge Robert M. Vinci, Attorney General Christopher Porrino said in a news release.

Bowman Sr. reportedly threatened to beat the 16-year-old if she didn't follow his orders and meet clients' expectations, Porrino said.

Under the plea agreement, the state will recommend Bowman Sr. serve 13 years in state prison, including five years of parole ineligibility.

“This plea will ensure that Bowman serves a lengthy sentence behind bars, where he can no longer subject young women and children to an unspeakable life of brutality and sexual slavery," Porrino said.

Bowman Sr. allegedly ran the ring with his wife, Ernestine Bowman, 33, of Orange. She pleaded guilty in December 2016 to second-degree facilitating human trafficking. She is facing a recommended 10-year prison sentence.

RELATED: Woman Admits Trafficking Girl, 16, For Prostitution In Bergen

Another woman, Jessica Copeland, 29, of Newark, acted as a boss over the prostitutes, Porrino previously said. She pleaded guilty last month to second-degree facilitating human trafficking. She and Ernestine Bowman are scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 25.

Copeland's plea came after the South Hackensack Police Department began an undercover operation targeting the prostitution ring that advertised on Backpage.com.

An undercover officer responded to an advertisement that included a photo of a very young-looking female with her breasts exposed, Porrino said in a news release. The officer phoned the number in the ad on Oct. 1, 2014, and a woman told him that he could have “full sex” for $160 cash at a motel on Route 46 in South Hackensack.

Bowman, his wife, Copeland and two others Glen Bowman Jr., 23, and Tokina Williams, 33, of Raleigh, North Carolina, were also indicted in the case in April 2015.

Bowman Jr. and Williams previously pleaded guilty to second-degree conspiracy to promote prostitution. Bowman Jr. faces a recommended prison sentence of seven years. He is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 14.

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Photos: Glen Bowman Sr., 42; Glen Bowman Jr., 23; Jessica Copeland, 29, of Newark and Tokina Williams, 33, of Raleigh, North Carolina