NYC Couple Forced Foster Children Into Prostitution: DA

NEW YORK CITY — A New York City husband and wife are accused of running a sex trafficking scheme that forced eight women — including two children in foster care — into prostitution, prosecutors said.

Kareem Mitchell, 38, and Sharice Mitchell, 51, walked into a Manhattan courtroom Wednesday to face a slew of criminal charges.

The couple targeted vulnerable young women in a prostitution scheme going back to 2018, prosecutors said.

“Sex traffickers target the most vulnerable New Yorkers, including – far too often – young New Yorkers in the child welfare system,” Alvin Bragg, who serves as Manhattan's District Attorney, said in a statement. “As alleged, instead of providing a safe home, this husband and wife forced eight young women to engage in prostitution."

Sharice Mitchell had been certified by the state as a foster parent, authorities said.

But during her application process, she lied and claimed her husband — who is a registered sex offender from a 2008 federal prostitution case involving a minor — didn't live with her, prosecutors said.

Two young women who ended up as Sharice Mitchell's foster children were forced into prostitution by the couple, authorities said.

Other women were groomed by Kareem Mitchell over Instagram and Facebook, prosecutors said. He unleashed verbal and physical abuse upon them to force them into prostitution, authorities said.

The prostitution acts unfolded in cars and hotels in Midtown and across Manhattan, as well as Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, authorities said.

The Mitchells both face sex trafficking and conspiracy charges. Kareem Mitchell faces additional charges of promoting prostitution and aggravated harassment.