In an indication the unhealthy outdated days are again in Occasions Sq., a sleazy Svengali sexually exploited two teen ladies he met on the Nice White Manner, plied them with medicine and booze, and made them promote medicine on the streets of the town, authorities stated.
Shymell “Shy” Ephron, 35, allegedly provided the ladies, 15 and 17, with ecstasy, marijuana and alcohol; gave them a cellphone to observe their whereabouts, and had intercourse them each evening in his Harlem house for every week in Could, Manhattan federal prosecutors stated in courtroom papers.
FBI brokers and NYPD cops “rescued” the ladies from Ephron’s clutches, and now wish to know if others have been equally abused, in response to the US Legal professional’s Workplace for the Southern District of New York.
ecstasy, marijuana and alcohol and had intercourse them in his Harlem house,
authorities stated. US Legal professional’s workplace
“There could also be extra victims of this alleged conduct,” the feds stated.
“That is 100% paying homage to the ’70s, ’80s, and early ’90s pre-Giuliani Occasions Sq. of pimps and prostitution,” fumed retired NYPD Lt. John Macari.
“It’s all making its method again to the unhealthy outdated days,” he stated, pointing the finger at woke politicians whose prison justice reforms have emboldened unhealthy guys.
The case comes because the Crossroads of the World has been rocked by high-profile crimes, together with the brutal mugging of a vacationer outdoors a four-star lodge in Could and a vacationer shot within the leg at a retailer in February by a younger shoplifter who then opened hearth at a cop. In late Could, a man was stabbed in each legs by three males believed to be wielding a machete outdoors a Occasions Sq. McDonald’s.
Authorities wouldn’t element the victims’ hometowns or background, and wouldn’t touch upon the scope of Ephron’s operation.
Ephron was arrested on July 10 and pleaded not responsible two days later to a seven-count indictment, together with two counts of coercion and enticement of a minor, every of which carries a compulsory minimal sentence of 10 years in jail and a most potential sentence of life behind bars, courtroom information present.
He was denied bail on the grounds he was a flight danger.
Ephron has 15 arrests relationship again to 2009, starting from theft to assault to drug possession with intent to promote, legislation enforcement sources stated. In a March 31 “home” theft incident, he allegedly stole an merchandise from a girl’s residence as a result of she wouldn’t have intercourse with him, the sources stated. He was arrested in reference to that incident in Midtown on April 24.
“The NYPD must beef up patrol and undercovers within the space. Criminals must really feel uncomfortable with uniform presence and the potential for his or her arrest,” stated retired NYPD detective and John Jay Faculty adjunct professor Michael Alcazar, a former undercover who labored Occasions Sq. from 1999 to 2006.
Alcazar stated “elevated foot visitors, the migrant disaster, results of the defund-the-police motion and the central location of Occasions Sq.” are the recipe for “a resurgence of drug and prostitution issues.
“It’s goal wealthy for pervs preying on wayward teenagers,” he added.
“This workplace is dedicated to protecting New York Metropolis secure from sexual predators,” US Legal professional for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams stated in a press release.
The FBI’s toll-free Tip Line may be reached at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324) or https://ideas.fbi.gov.
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