2 NYPD Officers Charged With Burglary, Groping Sex Worker, DA Says

QUEENS, NY — Two NYPD officers have been arrested and charged for stealing from sex workers and groping one of them in Jackson Heights, according to the Queens District Attorney.

Justin Colon, 24, and Justin McMillian, 25, have indicted on three counts of theft and one count of forcible touching, prosecutors said.

In July 2024, the two officers are accused of turning off their body cameras after responding to a 311 call about prostitution in an apartment building on 89th Street.

According to prosecutors, the officers approached a sex worker and stole a key from her purse. Colon and McMillian returned eight hours later and used the key to enter an alleged brothel.

The officers encountered another sex worker inside the apartment and proceeded to take cash from the woman’s purse before groping her breasts and buttocks, prosecutors said.

"The defendants, both sworn NYPD officers, are accused of using their authority to break into a building, steal money and forcibly touch a woman while on duty, with their body-worn cameras intentionally turned off so that their misdeeds would not be recorded," Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.

The officers were suspended on Monday, officials said. Both men pleaded not guilty to all charges.

"Wearing the uniform of a New York City Police Officer is one of the highest privileges in law enforcement,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. “The legitimacy of that work is based on the public’s trust. So when that trust is broken, as it was in this case, the entire police department must answer for it.