Crime & Safety
3 Sentenced For Sex Trafficking Girl To Bergen, Passaic Counties
Ernestine Bowman, Glen Bowman Jr. and Jessica Copeland were sentenced for making the girl, 16, work as a prostitute in a sex ring they ran.
BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — Three people were sentenced to state prison Friday for trafficking a 16-year-old girl to motels in South Hackensack and Clifton to work in a prostitution ring they ran, authorities announced.
Jessica Copeland, 29, of Newark, who acted as the boss over the prostitutes, was sentenced to six years in prison. She must serve three years before she is eligible for parole, Attorney General Christopher Porrino announced. She pleaded guilty to second-degree facilitating human trafficking.
Ernestine Bowman, 33, of Orange, was sentenced to 10 years and must serve 39 months before she is eligible for parole, Porrino announced. She pleaded guilty to second-degree facilitating human trafficking.
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Bowman's husband, Glen Bowman Sr., 42, pleaded guilty on Oct. 16 to first-degree conspiracy to commit human trafficking. He faces a recommended sentence of 13 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 14.
Glen Bowman Jr., 23, of Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced to six years. He pleaded guilty to second-degree conspiracy to promote prostitution.
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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.
“These defendants trapped a 16-year-old girl in an unspeakable hell of sexual slavery, threatening her with violence if she did not obey them,” said 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."
RELATED: Woman Admits Trafficking Girl, 16, For Prostitution In Bergen
RELATED: Man Pleads Guilty To Trafficking Girl, 16, For Sex In Bergen, Passaic Counties
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Photos, from left: Jessica Copeland, 29, Glen Bowman Jr., 23, and Ernestine Bowman, 33/Background image via Shutterstock
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