NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – A woman was charged with sex trafficking for allegedly forcing a woman to engage in prostitution in Queens and to pay the defendant a weekly sum of money, prosecutors announced on Friday.
Valezka Echeverrias, 30, from Jackson Heights, was also indicted on charges of grand larceny, robbery and other crimes for attempting to extort a second survivor and forcibly stealing the phones of both survivors while threatening them with a knife, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.
"The defendant is accused of using threats of violence to exploit one victim
and terrorize another in an effort to exert her power and line her pockets. Sex trafficking is a brutal and degrading enterprise," Katz said. "It is why I created a Human Trafficking Bureau and why we remain fully dedicated to eradicating sex trafficking from our communities."
According to court documents, in October 2023, Echeverrias allegedly forced the survivor to pay her weekly money while engaging in prostitution on Roosevelt Avenue. Shortly after, the survivor was required to pay daily, even if no work was done.
During this time, Echeverrias allegedly threatened to expose the survivor's private medical information to clients and release intimate videos of the survivor engaging in prostitution.
In December 2023, the survivor expressed a desire to end the arrangement. Echeverrias allegedly responded by threatening harm and demanding money, ultimately telling the survivor to leave and never return to the area.
In January 2024, while the survivor and another woman were on Roosevelt Avenue, Echeverrias and several others confronted them. Echeverrias allegedly brandished a silver knife and threatened to kill them if they returned. She also allegedly ordered an accomplice to take their phones and dispose of them in a sewer.
Echeverrias was arrested on Nov. 21, following the indictment. If convicted, she faces up to 25 years in prison.
