A 40-year-old Kissimmee man was arrested for allegedly assaulting multiple women and forcing them to work in prostitution.
On Wednesday, an indictment was unsealed in Brooklyn, New York, charging Joel David Forney with sex trafficking; interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution; and coercion and enticement of a minor.
That same day, Forney was located, arrested, and transported to Seminole County Jail, where he is currently being held without bond. He was arraigned on Wednesday evening in the Middle District of Florida.
According to the indictment, Forney allegedly trafficked women to work in prostitution in New York, including at an open-air sex trafficking market along a stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue in Brooklyn known as the Penn Track.
Forney is accused of transporting women from New York to multiple other states, including Connecticut and Missouri, with the intent that they engage in prostitution for his financial benefit. He also allegedly enticed and coerced a minor to engage in sex.
The indictment alleges that for multiple years, Forney “preyed on vulnerable women in tough financial circumstances” by sex trafficking them. He also allegedly assaulted the victims and subjected them to “constant threats of violence.”
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
If convicted, Forney faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years with a maximum sentence of up to life in prison.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New York Field Office is investigating the case.