A 22-year-old Ozone Park man was indicted by a Queens grand jury this morning on kidnapping and sex trafficking charges after officials say he allegedly raped and force a 15-year-old Long Island girl to prostitute herself.
Five other defendants, including one woman, were also been indicted in connection with the case.
“This is a horrific case in which the
victim, a young girl, is alleged to have survived a nightmarish ordeal
that included being drugged, gang raped and forced to work as a
prostitute,” said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.
Police say Gary Council, along with five others, picked up the young girl, a runaway, on Feb. 6 and took her to a house they were illegally occupying in Ozone Park. When the girl tried to leave, however, he grabbed her and told her, “You are going to stay here and make my money.”
Council and the others allegedly took nude photos of the girl with a cell phone and posted them on backpage.com to advertise prostitution services.
The girl said that over a period of about a week, she was forced to have both oral sex and sex with numerous men at the home in exchange for money, all of which was eventually given to Council. She said Council also forced her to take Ecstasy pills, as well as raped her himself.
If the girl tried to leave the home, Council would grab her and pull her back inside, warning her she would have “big problems” if she left. Finally, on February 12, Council told her to go across the street and get him something from the store. However, once she was outside the girl fled.
