Crime and Courts

24-Year-Old Brooklyn Man Accused of Selling Two Teen Girls for Sex: Prosecutors

What to Know

  • A Brooklyn man has been arrested and charged with sex trafficking of at least two teenage girls, prosecutors said Wednesday
  • Hakeem Bennett, 24, is accused of sex trafficking a 15 and a 17-year-old girl by putting their faces on an escort ad
  • Prosecutors say Bennett had been selling both teens for sex for weeks and pretending to be a girl when anyone called the number posted

A Brooklyn man who allegedly pretended to be a missing teenage girl on the phone as he tried to traffic her to an undercover investigator for sex has been arrested, prosecutors said.

Brooklyn District Attorney's Office on Wednesday announced charges for 24-year-old Hakeem Bennett of Flatbush. He's accused of sex trafficking a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old girl for several weeks by putting their faces on an escort advertisement.

Prosecutors say the NYPD received a tip on Sept. 30 from the FBI that a missing 17-year-old girl may be a trafficking victim.

On Oct. 3, an undercover officer responded to an advertisement that included photos of three young girls, including the missing teen and the 15-year-old.

The detective then called the phone number on the ad and a woman on the phone asked him to meet her at an address on East 29th Street in Flatbush, according to the indictment.

When the investigator arrived, one of the teens led the officer to Bennett, another teen and an unidentified woman. The undercover agreed with Bennett to pay $250 to have sex with both teens and Bennett was arrested shortly after.

Prosecutors say Bennett had been selling both teens for sex for weeks and pretending to be a girl when anyone called the number posted in the ad.

Bennett was charged with two counts of sex trafficking of a child, two counts of attempted sex trafficking of a child, two counts of second- and fourth-degree promoting prostitution, one count of third-degree promoting prostitution and one count of endangering the welfare of a child.

He faces up to 50 years in prison, according to the District Attorney's Office.

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