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.
