Gang member from West Hempstead forced women into sex work, officials say

A Bloods gang member who allegedly forced teenage girls and women into prostitution was charged with sex trafficking and other crimes in a seven-count indictment unsealed Thursday in federal court in Central Islip.

Prosecutors said Joshua Lampley-Reid, 26, feigned romance with victims he met via social media to convince them to do sex work, then used violence and threats to keep them in prostitution and took their earnings. One of the victims was 15 years old, prosecutors said.

"The defendant exploited and demeaned both underage and adult female victims by forcing them to engage in commercial sex acts and posting sexually explicit photographs of them on the internet," said Mark Lesko, acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District.

Lampley-Reid of West Hempstead pleaded not guilty to the charges during an arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge James M. Wicks, who ordered him held without bond. Wicks will consider a request for bail when Lampley-Reid returns to court on June 18.

Tracey Gaffey of the Federal Defenders, Lampley-Reid’s attorney, declined to comment after Thursday’s arraignment.

According to court papers, Lampley-Reid began recruiting women and at least two minors through social media almost immediately after he was released from state prison after serving more than a year for a third-degree robbery conviction in December 2019.

He forced the victims to perform sex acts for money in Long Island motels including the Freeport Inn and Marina, the Coliseum Motel in East Meadow and the Best Western in Rockville Centre, according to court papers. He also took victims out of state to perform sex acts for money, including locations in Florida, Maryland and North Carolina.

"Resistance to Lampley was met with violence or the threat of violence. Any money earned that Lampley did not collect himself was immediately due to him and withholding money from him was an offense punishable by violence," the court papers said.

"In order to maintain control over his victims, the defendant alternately showed affection and acted violently, not only beating his victims but also withholding food and other basic necessities," the papers added. "The defendant tracked their phones, threatened their families and stalked them after they left him."

The court papers said that Lampley-Reid had a taser and a billy club when he was arrested Wednesday, as well as condoms, hotel keys and eight cellphones, which prosecutors called evidence of his prostitution operation. He was also carrying the identification and banking cards of one of his victims, a 19-year-old woman, "thereby making it nearly impossible for her to have escaped if she wanted to."

Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Marshal and the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office were also involved in the investigation into Lampley-Reid.

"Sex trafficking is a particularly heinous crime that targets some of the most vulnerable in our communities. Individuals who perpetrate this crime use drugs, intimidation and ultimately violence to lure in their victims for financial gain while slowly destroying their lives," said Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon, who created a sex-trafficking unit in Suffolk jails to help victims leave sex work.

Lampley-Reid’s brother, Dangelo Gibson of Hempstead, told reporters after Thursday’s arraignment that his brother was not involved in sex trafficking.

"He’s innocent of these charges," Gibson said.