Source: United States Department of Justice News
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that MICHAEL PASCHAL was found guilty of all four counts at trial, including sex trafficking a minor and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor. The verdict followed a seven-day trial before U.S District Judge Vernon S. Broderick.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Michael Paschal targeted a vulnerable teenager and prostituted her with others for his own profit. He induced the minor victim with promises of food and shelter and then immediately exploited her. The jury’s guilty verdict and the Court’s immediate remand of the defendant send a clear message to the public that those who prostitute minors will be held accountable. We thank and commend the brave victim who came forward to law enforcement and testified at trial. Her testimony was critical in holding the defendant accountable and ensuring that he cannot harm other victims, including minors, again.”
According to the Indictment, documents previously filed in the case, and the evidence admitted at trial:
In or around July 2020, PASCHAL and a co-conspirator (“CC-1”) met a 17-year-old minor victim (“Minor Victim-1”) in another state. PASCHAL and CC-1 induced Minor Victim-1 to travel with him from another state to his house in the Bronx with promises of food and shelter and with the intent to prostitute Minor Victim-1 from his Bronx residence.
PASCHAL operated a prostitution business from his residence in the Bronx. Minor Victim-1 stayed at PASCHAL’s residence for several weeks in July 2020, during which time PASCHAL prostituted Minor Victim-1.
When Minor Victim-1 became sick, PASCHAL transported Minor Victim-1 to a children’s hospital for medical care. PASCHAL communicated with employees of the Administration for Children’s Services while Minor Victim-1 was in the hospital in an attempt to have Minor Victim-1 released into his custody.
That effort was unsuccessful, and Minor Victim-1 was returned to her home state. However, several weeks later, PASCHAL again began prostituting Minor Victim-1 from his residence in the Bronx. PASCHAL posted prostitution ads with sexually explicit photographs of Minor Victim-1 and communicated with sex buyers to facilitate commercial sex with Minor Victim-1.
PASCHAL prostituted Minor Victim-1, and worked with others to prostitute Minor Victim-1, for weeks until she was recovered from PASCHAL’s residence in or about December 2020. When confronted, PASCHAL told law enforcement, in substance, “what’s the big deal, she’s about to turn 18 anyway.”
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PASCHAL, 52, of the Bronx, New York, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison; one count of sex trafficking of a minor, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison; one count of transporting a minor for the purpose of prostitution, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison; and one count of enticing an individual to travel interstate for the purpose of prostitution, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The defendant was remanded into custody after the guilty verdict.
The minimum and maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by the judge. PASCHAL is scheduled to be sentenced on September 6, 2023.
Any individuals who believe they have information that may be relevant to this case should contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office at 1-866-874-8900 and reference this case.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding work of Homeland Security Investigations.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Mead, Jackie Delligatti, and Jane Kim are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Isabel Loftus.