The Saga of Homeless Youths Enlisted as Prostitutes

By DEAN BROWN

Experts report that on a single night in January 2015, for example, New York City had about 317 homeless youth between the ages of 18 and 24 roaming the streets. In a city as large as New York, living without a roof over your head comes with many pitfalls.

Predators looking to take advantage of at risk-youth are taking a more brazen and direct approach by using online sites like Craigslist and Backpages.com to ensnare young girls into a life of sexual exploitation and abuse.

One such case involving direct online advertising to young women living in temporary housing run by Covenant House was recently broken after a lengthy investigation by the Manhattan DA’s office in conjunction with the Department of Homeless Services, resulting in the indictment of
Michael Lamb, a resident of the East village, who stands accused of three counts of sex trafficking and one count of promoting prostitution. He faces 8 to twenty-five years in prison if convicted and is being held on $100,000 bond.

The indictment comes after initial investigations into questionable online ads with headers such as “Do you stay in shelter/Covenant House? Want to move out of moms?” accompanied with photos of wadded up $20 and $100 dollar bills. These advertisements also stipulated that the young women “must be interested in the escort business” in order to qualify for the free room and board provided.

Lamb 33, allegedly ran the ads from January 2013 up until Tuesday when he was taken into custody. His hard drive was also seized during a search of the apartment that allegedly, was used to lure young women into sex trafficking. The apartment. investigators say, was used as an office where ads were created targeting a specific location of Covenant House located only three miles from the defendant’s base of operations, according to court documents.

On Thursday a hearing held at Manhattan Supreme Court was postponed until next week after Lamb’s defense lawyer Tonya Mecina was held up by a time conflict in an unrelated case.

According to Covenant House’s website, researchers conducted two studies one at their Location near New York City’s Fordham University and another at Loyola University in New Orleans, concluding that nearly one fourth of the youths staying at their facilities have been solicited for sexual favors in exchange for gifts and long-term housing. Many of the youths interviewed said they would decline if a safer alternative were available.

“This case provides chilling insight into the way pimps operate.” said a Covenant House bard member. “It shows how they seek out the most vulnerable young people to exploit, and how they resort to blackmail and threats of violence to get people to work for them. We must work as a society to reject the notion that it is acceptable to purchase people for sex. Anyone who does so is a potential accomplice to crimes like those Michael Lamb is accused of.”