By Sasha Gonzales
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A Bronx man who photographed minors and sold their sexually suggestive pictures to clients was convicted this week of sex trafficking kids out of his apartment, federal prosecutors said.
A jury in New York’s Southern District found Claudius English, 45, guilty on June 10 of multiple counts of sex trafficking minors, attempted sex trafficking of minors as young as 8 years old, kidnapping of a minor, and using a firearm to commit the kidnapping.
English “engaged in a predatory reign of terror and exploitation of children,” U.S. Attorney for SDNY, Geoffrey Berman, said after the verdict.
According to evidence presented at the trial, English sex trafficked multiple minor victims out of his Bronx apartment in 2013, using the Internet to find, recruit, and lure children there, prosecutors said.
Inside, he photographed them in sexually suggestive poses before sending the images off to various “clients.” He also created advertisements he posted on Backpage.com, and arranged for clients to pay for sex with at least four minor victims who testified at trial.
For one client, English took steps to sex traffic girls as young as 13, 11, and 8.
English was caught by authorities after a 14-year-old girl he turned a gun on, and tried to sell for sex, ran away from his apartment.
He faces a statutory maximum sentence of life in prison, and a mandatory minimum sentence of 27 years.
English’s attorney could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.