A Queens man has been indicted for allegedly operating a sex trafficking ring in Brooklyn, United States Attorney Breon Peace announced this week.
Douglas Welch (also known as “Paradise”), a 40-year-old Queens resident, faces several charges including sex trafficking by force, sex trafficking conspiracy, interstate prostitution, and promotion of prostitution.
If convicted of his charges, Welch could face a minimum prison term of 15 years, with a maximum sentence of life in jail.
According to court documents, Welch allegedly recruited numerous women to engage in commercial sex work along a stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue in Brooklyn known as the “Penn Track.”
It is alleged that the Queens man forced his victims to perform various sex acts with customers by using threats and violence.
Among the alleged incidents — regarding Welch — described in the court filings include bragging about knocking a trafficking victim unconscious, striking another victim with a baseball bat for refusing to participate in prostitution, threatening a sex trafficker by saying he (Welch) was going to leave a “stain on her brain,” to name a few.
“As alleged, Welch has trafficked multiple women for his own financial benefit while boasting about the cruel and brutal violence he has inflicted on the vulnerable victims,” said United States Attorney Peace.
“Running a brazen, open-air commercial sex market in East New York or anywhere else in our district is unacceptable, dangerous to our communities, and especially harmful to women caught in this terrible cycle of abuse.”
