Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks to supporters in New York, Nov. 2, 2021. Bragg said Thursday, April 7, 2022, a criminal investigation into the former president Donald Trump and his business practices is continuing “without fear or favor” despite a recent shakeup in the probe’s leadership.
(AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File)
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced that his office would be pursuing a case against Manhattan resident 62-year-old Glen Johnson, who allegedly raped and trafficked a 14-year-old runaway child.
Johnson was indicted for forcibly raping the young girl and then forcing her to have sex with a multitude of other men while Johnson received payment. He is charged with Sex Trafficking of a Child, Rape in the First and Second Degrees, and Criminal Sexual Act in the Second Degree.
“Unfortunately, while the allegations in this case are utterly disturbing, it is by no means unique,” said District Attorney Bragg, in a statement on July 14. “Far from the common misconception of sex trafficking – where young women are kidnapped in foreign countries and transported across borders – sex trafficking is happening right in our backyard. Again and again, we see traffickers target runaway children in our busiest transit hubs and use various forms of coercion to force them to perform commercial sexual acts.”
According to court documents as well as statements made in court, on March 9, 2022, Johnson allegedly encountered a 14-year-old girl in Penn Station who had taken an Amtrak train to Manhattan after running away from home. Johnson allegedly offered to take care of her to convince her to accompany him, and then forcibly raped her. The next day, Johnson allegedly took the victim to an alley in Manhattan where multiple men raped her – one of whom paid the defendant afterward.
It is alleged that Johnson later brought the victim back to Penn Station, where Amtrak police officers recognized the child from a missing persons flier and intervened. The defendant left and was arrested following an investigation conducted by the Manhattan D.A.’s Office and the NYPD.
Currently, Assistant D.A. Marcella Lupski is handling the prosecution of this case under the supervision of Assistant D.A. Pierre Griffith (Deputy Chief of the Human Trafficking Response Unit), Assistant D.A. Justin McNabney (Chief of the Human Trafficking Response Unit) and Executive Assistant D.A. Joyce Smith (Chief of the Special Victims Division).
amNewYork Metro is awaiting comment from Johnson and his legal team.
Ex-Brit turned Manhattan resident since 2008.