Leader Of Queens Child Sex Trafficking Ring Gets Prison Time

QUEENS, NY -- The leader of a Queens-based sex trafficking ring that prostituted girls as young as 14 years old will spend the next 15 years of his life behind bars.

Michael Andres Miller was handed the 15-year sentence in a Brooklyn federal court on Wednesday for trafficking minors for sex in Queens, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, said U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue. The 26-year-old Brooklyn man - also known as Jason M, mikegmiller and Jay - pled guilty to the crime in May 2017.

According to court records, Miller led an online sex-trafficking ring based in Queens, using popular social media apps like "Meet Me and "Kik" to recruit girls as young as 14. He prostituted the girls out to customers through Backpage.com, and had sex with at least two of them, Donoghue said.

“Children are supposed to be protected by adults, not used as a means to make money,” said William Sweeney, FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge who announced the sentence. “The mere idea that this man sold girls, one as young as 14, and even used them for his own sexual gratification boggles the mind.”

Cops arrested Miller in August 2016 in a hotel room in Pennsylvania, where they found a middle school ID card that belonged to one of the girls he was prostituting at nearby hotels.

In addition to his prison sentence, a judge also ordered Miller to pay $9,500 in restitution to the three underaged girls identified in his case.

"Today's sentence holds the defendant accountable for his predatory conduct," Donoghue said.

Lead image via Shutterstock.