Woman Admits Trafficking Girl, 16, For Prostitution In Bergen

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — A woman pleaded guilty Wednesday to a human trafficking charge for her role in prostituting a 16-year-old girl who was trafficked from New York to New Jersey as part of a prostitution ring.

Jessica Copeland, 29, of Newark, who went by the nickname "China White" and acted as a boss over the prostitutes — pleaded guilty to second-degree facilitating human trafficking before Bergen County Superior Court Judge Robert M. Vinci, Attorney General Christopher Porrino announced. She is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 25.

The investigation began as an undercover operation by the South Hackensack Police Department targeting a 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.

Copeland was one of five people indicted in the case in April 2015. They were charged with conspiring to traffic the girl from Brooklyn, New York to North Jersey to make her work as a prostitute at motels in South Hackensack and Clifton.

“This defendant threatened a 16-year-old girl with violence to keep her trapped in a hellish life of sexual slavery,” said Attorney General Porrino. “This is a classic case of human trafficking, in which the perpetrators isolated and intimidated a vulnerable victim so they could exploit her for their profit. I commend the South Hackensack Police and our attorneys in the Division of Criminal Justice for rescuing this victim and bringing those responsible to justice.”

Glen Bowman Sr., 42, of Newark, N.J., and his wife, Ernestine Bowman, 32, of Orange, N.J., allegedly ran the ring.

Ernestine Bowman pleaded guilty in December to second-degree facilitating human trafficking. She is awaiting sentencing and faces a recommended sentence of 10 years in prison.

Glen Bowman Sr. faces pending first-degree charges of conspiracy, human trafficking and promoting prostitution of a minor. The couple’s son, Glen Bowman Jr., 23, of Brooklyn, N.Y., previously pleaded guilty to second-degree conspiracy to promote prostitution and faces a recommended prison sentence of seven years.

Tokina Williams, 33, of Raleigh, North Carolina pleaded guilty to second-degree promoting prostitution.

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Photo: Jessica Copeland, 29, of Newark/New Jersey Attorney General's Office