Freddie Rice, of Bay Shore, charged with sex trafficking by force, promoting prostitution

A Bay Shore man has been indicted on charges he used "physical force, narcotics, and other means" to coerce three women into becoming sex workers, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said.

Court records show Freddie Rice, 34, was arraigned Thursday before Supreme Court Justice John B. Collins, charged with eight felony counts of sex trafficking, one count of sex trafficking by force, which is a Class B violent felony, and one count of third-degree promoting prostitution. Records show Rice was remanded, and is scheduled to be back in court on Jan. 27.

Attorney Ian Thomas Fitzgerald, of Hampton Bays, who represents Rice in this case, declined comment on Friday.

Court records show Rice has been remanded since April on another case, charged on an assortment of drug-related charges.

The attorney representing Rice in that case could not immediately be reached for comment Friday. Rice is due back in court on that case on Jan. 27, as well.

According to the Suffolk District Attorney's Office, between August 2019 and December 2023, Rice "allegedly preyed upon the drug addictions of at least three women" in order to "control and coerce them" into "sexual acts with various men" for his own profit. Authorities said each of the women was addicted to either heroin and/or cocaine — drugs, prosecutors said, allegedly provided to them by Rice in order to compel them to follow "his directives."

As part of the scheme, authorities said, Rice forced each of his victims to hand over all proceeds of their sexual liaisons — either through physical force or through the withholding of drugs to which they were addicted.

Though authorities said Rice told each of the women they must engage in the sex work to pay off their "debt" to him, they said the women were never able to earn enough to pay off any debts Rice said they owed, no matter how much money they earned.

"Today's indictment sends a clear message to those who would exploit and manipulate vulnerable individuals," Suffolk District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said in a statement Thursday, adding: "Sex trafficking is a grave violation of human dignity, and I am committed to its elimination."

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”