Forest Hills man convicted of pimping out two teenage girls
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A Forest Hills man was convicted of charges related to the pimping out and statutory rape of two teenage girls, aged 13 and 16, back in 2011.
Queens County District Attorney Richard Brown announced that Peter Gerardi, 30, of Forest Hills, was convicted of one count of compelling prostitution, three counts of second-degree promoting prostitution, two counts of third degree promoting prostitution, twenty-one counts of statutory rape, eleven counts of statutory criminal sex act and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
In a separate, unrelated crime, two brothers pleaded guilty to felony charges in a gunpoint sex trafficking case.
“The defendants in these two cases are guilty of having taken advantage of vulnerable young women and forcing them to participate in a modern day version of slavery by coercing them to work as prostitutes for their financial gain through threats of physical harm and intimidation,” Brown said. “These cases make it abundantly clear that prostitution is not a victimless crime but a terrifying and despicable offense against society – and the young women that it enslaves. These convictions send a clear message that crimes such as these will not be tolerated in Queens County.”
In 2011, Gerardi allegedly befriended both he 13-year-old girl and the 16-year-old. According to court documents, both reluctantly agreed to prostitute themselves for him. It was said, according to Brown, that he became violent with both of them when they did not do what he wished. He also allegedly engaged in sexual acts with both of them.
