Defendant Forced Victim Into Prostitution by Beating Her and Using Coercion;
Victim Made to Walk Streets and Was Advertised on Internet
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Bronx man has been
sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for Kidnapping, Predatory Sexual Assault, Sex Trafficking
and other charges related to his forcing a woman into prostitution.
District Attorney Clark said, “The defendant brutally beat, sexually assaulted and held the
victim against her will. He also used coercive control tactics to compel her to engage in prostitution
for his profit. Today’s sentence will keep a depraved man off our streets.”
District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Lemuel Skipper, 28, of 1610 Sedgwick Avenue,
was sentenced to an aggregate prison term of 20 years to life in prison today by Bronx Supreme
Court Justice James McCarty. The defendant will be required to register as a sex offender upon his
release. A jury found the defendant guilty of two counts of first-degree Kidnapping, Predatory
Sexual Assault, two counts of Sex Trafficking, first-degree Aggravated Sexual Abuse, second degree and fourth-degree Promoting Prostitution, and second-degree Assault on January 14, 2019.
According to the investigation, on or about and between July 20, 2015 and July 22, 2015,
the defendant lured a 26-year-old woman to an apartment to intentionally advance and profit from
the prostitution of the victim. While holding her captive, the defendant slapped and punched the
victim, and sexually assaulted her with an object. The defendant then took the victim to the areas
of Westchester Square and Southern Boulevard to force her to engage in prostitution. The victim
managed to get away by having someone drive her to a local Bronx hospital, where she called
police. Hotel records, phone records, and backpage.com advertisements were retrieved during the
investigation.
In prosecuting this matter, the Bronx District Attorney’s Office presented evidence from Dr. Chitra Raghavan, PhD, Professor of Psychology and Deputy Director of The Forensic Mental
Health Counseling Program at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, as an expert in TraumaBonding and Coercive Control in Sex Trafficking. During New York State’s first-ever Frye hearing
(a hearing to determine whether expert testimony is based on established and accepted scientific
methods) on this topic, this Office successfully proved the scientific community’s acceptance of
Trauma-Bonding and Coercive Control in Sex Trafficking.
District Attorney Clark thanked Detective James Barrenger of the Bronx Special Victims
Squad, for his assistance with the case.
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