Brooklyn Man Charged With Sex Trafficking Suffolk County Woman: DA

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — A Brooklyn man was indicted in connection with forcing a Suffolk County woman to engage in sexual acts for money, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said Thursday.

Michael Howell, 64, was indicted on sex trafficking and other related charges, Tierney said.

"It is deplorable and illegal to subject anyone to physical assaults and threats in order to compel them to engage in sexual acts with others for profit," Tierney said in a news release. "We are committed to ensuring that those who sexually exploit vulnerable individuals for a profit are held accountable for their actions."

Christopher Brocato, Howell's lawyer, said Howell "adamantly denies" the indictment "in its entirety."

"He is confident he will prevail once he has his day in court," Brocato told Patch.

From approximately September 2022 through February, Howell forced the woman to engage in sexual acts with others for money throughout Suffolk County and nearby counties, prosecutors said. Howell rented hotel rooms and posted advertisements of the woman on websites used to advertise sex for money, authorities said.

Howell gave her crack-cocaine and heroin and would take any money from the sexual acts that she was forced to perform, investigators said. The DA said Howell gained control of the woman by giving her drugs. When the woman refused to engage in sexual acts, Howell resorted to physical violence and threats to gain her compliance, including slamming her head into a wall, officials said.

During the time in which Howell maintained control of the woman, he also repeatedly told her that she owed him money for the drugs that he provided to her and for the hotel room that
she stayed in, authorities said.

At the time of his arrest on Feb. 1, Howell was found in possession of fentanyl and a large amount of cocaine, the DA said.

He was indicted on charges of one count of sex trafficking as a class B violent felony; three counts of sex trafficking as a class B felony; one count of second-degree promoting prostitution; one count of third-degree promoting prostitution; one count of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance; one count of fourth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance; and one count of seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Howell was arraigned Thursday. He was ordered held on $1 million cash, $3 million bond or $10 million partially-secured bond while his case is heard. He is due back in court on April 5.