A federal jury in Brooklyn has convicted Joel David Forney, also known as “Sirbar,” on two counts of sex trafficking and related charges. The verdict was delivered after a five-day trial before United States District Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto. Forney, age 42 from Kissimmee, Florida, was found guilty of using force, fraud, and coercion to compel two women to work as prostitutes, including at the Penn Track area along Pennsylvania Avenue in East New York. He was also convicted of transporting one woman across state lines for prostitution and coercing a minor into sexual activity in 2014 when he was 31 years old.
Forney faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and could receive up to life imprisonment.
The case was announced by Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Harmeet K. Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division; and Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office.
“The jury found that Forney used violence and threats to compel women to engage in commercial sex acts at the Penn Track for his own profit, and enticed a vulnerable minor into having sex with him” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “Our Office will relentlessly pursue those, like the defendant, who engage in sex trafficking, and I commend the survivors of Forney’s depraved conduct who bravely assisted law enforcement in bringing him to justice.”
Mr. Nocella thanked the FBI/NYPD Child Exploitation Human Trafficking Task Force for their investigative work.
“The defendant used violence and threats of violence to compel his victims to engage in commercial sex for his profit,” stated Assistant Attorney General Dhillon. “There is no place in a civilized society for the defendant’s inhumane conduct, and the Justice Department is committed to punishing human trafficking and achieving justice for its victims.”
“Joel Forney lured and forced women into commercial sexual acts with multiple individuals for his own profit and personally sought out and sexually abused a minor. Forney mercilessly punished and threatened extreme violence to induce compliance from his trafficked victims. May today’s conviction empower survivors of sexual violence and emphasize the FBI’s intolerance of those who seek to profit from another’s abuse,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia.
During the trial it was shown that Forney recruited women through false promises before forcing them into prostitution while keeping their earnings. When they resisted, he used physical abuse or threats of harm or death against them. One victim testified that Forney showed her an image on his cellphone depicting a dismembered woman as a warning.
Evidence also revealed that Forney met a minor near his home in Queens in June 2014 by sending her romantic messages and offering money. He then had sexual intercourse with her at his house when she was no more than 15 years old.
Authorities urge anyone with information about human trafficking to contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org for more details about available resources.
The prosecution was led by Assistant United States Attorneys Antoinette N. Rangel, Lauren A. Bowman, Trial Attorney Leah Branch from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, Paralegal Specialist Chelsea Guzman, Victim Witness Coordinator Huda Abouchaer, and Victim Witness Specialist Kristina Marius.
