NORFOLK, Va. – A New York woman was sentenced Tuesday to 76 months in prison for sex trafficking of a minor in Hampton Roads.
Her co-defendant, Omel McLean, was previously sentenced to 30 years in prison for sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion.
According to court documents, for at least a decade beginning around 2010, 54-year-old Omel McLean, maintained a group of women and minors based in New York City whom he forced to engage in commercial sex.
Court documents say he controlled them with physical abuse, using a baseball bat and paddles to discipline them, and by providing and restricting their access to illegal controlled substances.
McLean is said to have commonly required minors he recruited to have sex with him first. He impregnated several of his victims and then reportedly restricted their access to their children.
McLean recruited his co-defendant, when she was herself a minor. News 3 previously spoke with this woman in an exclusive jailhouse interview.
We are not identifying her because she said she has been the victim of sex trafficking since she was 14 years old. She said she has grown tired of the lifestyle and was disgusted by it. She said in a way, she is glad that she has been arrested along with Mclean.
According to documents, the woman supervised the group of women and minors for McLean. She posted advertisements and arranged the commercial sex acts.
Documents state when she was old enough to travel out of state, she would bring women and minors to the Hampton Roads area. This area is where McLean had a substantial client base.
During the exclusive interview with News 3, the woman recalled meeting with a teen that was from Connecticut. The teen's Uber driver called the police due to the situation seemed suspicious.
When police arrived, the girl allegedly told them the woman forced her to go to Virginia Beach from New York.
Documents state that after a few weeks, the teen said she tried to get away with the help of a client. Documents state that the woman threatened her and said someone would kill her.
The woman denies threatening the teen and said she tried to help her get away.
“I got tired of it. I didn’t want to do it anymore. Being 25 and doing the same thing since you were 14 gets tiring. Seeing all the females come and go - I got tired, and I didn’t want do it. I am guilty, and the fact that I allowed a young girl to be put in the same predicament that I was in..." said the woman, but she said she did not think she was guilty for the situation with the minor because she claimed she tried to help the teen.
Related: News 3 speaks to woman arrested for sex trafficking minor from New York to Virginia Beach
