New York: Alexander brothers each sentenced to 30 years for sex trafficking
New York — Brothers Alon, Tal and Oren Alexander, who lived at the top of New York and Miami wealth and high society, were each sentenced on Tuesday to 30 years in federal prison for sex trafficking and other offenses, after an emotional hearing in a Manhattan federal court that lasted several hours.
Twelve women gave statements during the sentencing, in a courtroom packed with victims and their loved ones. One of them, using the pseudonym Katie Moore, told the court the brothers spent years trafficking women and girls as if their lives meant nothing, and said: “But we are not disposable, and they are not untouchable.”
The sentence marks the fall of three prominent men: Tal, 40, and Oren, 39, were major luxury real estate brokers, while Alon, Oren's twin, was an executive at his family's security company. During the five-week trial, prosecutors presented evidence of the pattern they followed for years: using their wealth and status to lure women to luxurious places before using drugs or force to rape and sexually assault them. Eleven women testified at trial, although prosecutors said more than 70 victims had reported their cases to investigators.
Federal Judge Valerie Caproni compared the brothers to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, called their conduct “monstrous,” and rejected the defense's framing of it as party culture. “This is not just about insensitivity. It was wrong. In this case, the wrong was drugging, raping and trafficking women, not being rude,” she said. The brothers, dressed in prison uniforms, said they were ashamed of some of their behavior but maintained they never drugged or raped anyone, something the judge called “a complete lie.”
The defense had asked for the lowest possible sentence of 15 years, while federal prosecutors argued they deserved life in prison, the maximum penalty. All three were also convicted of enticement to travel for illicit sexual purposes, and Alon and Tal were additionally convicted of sex trafficking of a minor.
Photo: CNN en Español
Source: CNN en Español