WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2005

DA BROWN: ALLEGED BLOODS MEMBER AND TWO OTHERS INDICTED ON CHARGES OF KIDNAPPING AND UNLAWFUL IMPRISONMENT IN PIMPING OF 15-YEAR-OLD GIRL IN FAR ROCKAWAY

District Attorney Richard A. Brown today announced that a Bronx woman – allegedly a member of the Bloods gang – and two male associates have been indicted on multiple felony charges – including kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment – for attempting to force a 15-year-old girl into prostitution in order to raise bail money for another alleged Bloods member.

District Attorney Brown said, “The three defendants are accused of the forcible abduction and the brutal physical and sexual assault of a fifteen-year-old girl whom they tried to force into prostitution by means of physical threats, intimidation and unlawful imprisonment. Fortunately, the young girl was an extremely strong-willed individual and refused their demands. The offenses they are accused of committing are crimes of violence that pose a serious threat to public safety and which warrant vigorous prosecution and maximum punishment.”

District Attorney Brown identified the defendants as alleged Bloods member Karen Lockhart, 18, of 184 Tiebout Avenue in the Bronx; Larue Daniel, 28, of 28-18 Westbourne Avenue in Brooklyn; and Jean M. Gedeon, 20, of 218 Beach 31st Street in Far Rockaway, Queens. The three defendants have been charged in a 11-count indictment with two counts of Kidnapping in the First Degree, two counts of Attempted Promoting Prostitution in the Second Degree, two counts of Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree, one count of Unlawful Imprisonment in the First Degree, one count of Reckless Endangerment in the First Degree, one count of Assault in the Second Degree, one count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child, and one count of Conspiracy in the Fifth Degree. The defendants, who have been held without bail since their initial arrest on June 1, 2005, face up to life in prison if convicted.

The defendant Daniel was arraigned today on the indictment today before Acting Queens Supreme Court Justice James P. Griffin. The defendants Lockhart and Gedeon are scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow.

The District Attorney said that, according to the charges, the defendants, between May 29th and June 1, 2005, conspired to promote prostitution by forcing the young victim to sell herself in order to obtain bail money for another Bloods member named “Gutter.” In carrying out their conspiracy, it is alleged that the defendant Lockhart befriended the child, who had run away from her Bronx home, and convinced her to go to Far Rockaway. Once there, they allegedly met up with the defendants Daniel and Gedeon, who had purportedly been appointed by another Blood member to be Lockhart’s bodyguards and servants whenever she sold her body for money. Shortly thereafter, the child was made to watch Lockhart prostitute herself, and learned that she was expected to do the same. The child refused, at which point the defendants took her to Gedeon’s Beach 31st Street address. Over the course of the next several days, the child was allegedly held prisoner, stripped of all of her clothing, physically and sexually abused, and verbally threatened that if she did not do as the defendants requested, she would be thrown out on the street naked to be raped. On the evening of June 1st, the child managed to escape her captors wearing nothing but a jacket and, with the aid of two passersby, contact police.

In announcing today’s court action, District Attorney Brown noted, “Just two months ago, shortly after this young child was going through her nightmarish ordeal, I stood with Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Kelly to announce a new enforcement initiative – Operation Guardian – that targets pimps who lure children into prostitution and sexually exploit them. In my view, there can be no public safety issue more compelling than to protect our children from being caught in a human bondage that destroys their innocence, hope and dreams. Today’s case clearly illustrates the need for such an initiative.”

According to the District Attorney, Operation Guardian has three components:

• A team in the District Attorney’s office dedicated to attacking child prostitution using tough enforcement techniques that have been used successfully against other criminal enterprises;

• A new partnership with Mount Sinai Hospital’s Sexual Assault Victims Intervention (SAVI) program to provide around-the-clock support to sexually exploited children who cooperate with prosecutions and send day or night SAVI counselors to child victims at hospitals or police stations; and

• A new residential placement facility outside the City to provide care, protection and rehabilitation for victims of child prostitution and ensure a safe haven with a multiple social services under one roof.

The investigation was conducted by Detective Brad Fine of the New York City Police Department's 101st Precinct Detective Squad and Police Officer Alexander Lago of the 101st Precinct under the supervision of Sergeant Matthew Reilly and assisted by Police Officer Marcos Peñedo of the NYPD's Gang Squad under the supervision of Lieutenant Antonio Cruz.

Assistant District Attorney Oscar W. Ruiz, Deputy Bureau Chief of the District Attorney’s Special Proceedings Bureau, is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Bureau Chief Anthony M. Communiello, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Linda M. Cantoni.

It should be noted that an indictment is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.