FROM: HOLLEY CARNRIGHT
DATE: FEBRUARY 23, 2017
RE: PRESS RELEASE
DISTRICT ATTORNEY D. HOLLEY CARNRIGHT ANNOUNCES: SEX TRAFFICKER SENTENCED FOR PROMOTING PROSTITUTION OF A CHILD
Gregory C. Williams, 39, who last resided at the Capri Motel in Port Ewen but previously lived in the City of Kingston, was sentenced Thursday, February 23, 2017, in Ulster County Court before Honorable Donald A. Williams. Gregory C. Williams was sentenced to spend 2 1/3 to 7 years in state prison, the maximum sentence permitted by law, on his conviction for Promoting Prostitution in the Third Degree, a Class “D” felony. On December 15, 2016, he admitted that on or about April 10, 2016, he advanced or profited from prostitution of a child under nineteen years old.
The defendant was arrested on November 3, 2016 and charged with Promoting Prostitution in the Third Degree, Disseminating Indecent Material to a Minor and Offering a False Instrument for Filing after a joint investigation of the Ulster County Family and Child Advocacy Center and the Kingston Police Department. The investigation revealed that the defendant was prostituting a then, sixteen year old child.
This is the first felony conviction for child trafficking since the Ulster County Department of Social Services was selected to receive funds under the Safe Harbour Program run the by New York State Office for Family and Child Services. While the Safe Harbour Program is primarily aimed at protecting and securing services for sexually exploited youth, the monies are also used for raising community awareness and training of both service providers and law enforcement.
District Attorney Carnright cited the importance of the Safe Harbour Program in “shining a spotlight” on criminal activity taking place in every community that would often be overlooked. Traffickers, including Gregory Williams, use various forms of manipulation to get vulnerable children into “the life” as it is commonly called and to keep them from leaving or reporting to law enforcement. This manipulation can be physical abuse but also commonly includes promises of love, introducing a young adolescent to a lifestyle they could otherwise not afford and getting victims addicted to drugs which force the victim to continue participating in prostitution to support their habit.
The case was prosecuted by Ulster County Special Victims Bureau Chief Katherine R. Van Loan. The defendant is represented by John Evans, Esq., a member of the Dutchess County Public Defender’s assigned due to a conflict with the Ulster County Public Defender’s Office.