Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., today announced the trial conviction of CHRISTOPHER WITHERSPOON, 42, for operating a violent prostitution operation which included trafficking one woman and violently sexually assaulting a second. He was found guilty of Sex Trafficking, Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree, Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, Promoting Prostitution in the Third Degree, and Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, among other charges, following a bench trial. He is expected to be sentenced on December 3, 2026.
“Today, Christopher Witherspoon was convicted of running a prostitution operation that included brutally trafficking a vulnerable woman and sexually assaulting another,” said District Attorney Bragg. “Witherspoon exercised complete control, including by sexually assaulting, beating, and threatening the women. Now, he has been held accountable. I thank the Court for its careful consideration of the evidence, and the survivors who bravely took the stand.”
As proven at trial, WITHERSPOON met the first survivor when she was working in a club in 2020, and she agreed to work for him in prostitution. A few weeks after her child was born, WITHERSPOON beat the survivor and sexually assaulted her. She took her child and fled in fall 2022.
After she left, WITHERSPOON sought a new survivor with the assistance of PAUL MIDDLETON, 52, and LOUIS AUSTIN, 55, who both previously pleaded guilty to Conspiracy in the Fifth Degree and Promoting Prostitution in the Fourth Degree. MIDDLETON, a Greyhound employee, identified the second survivor at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in early 2023. He took nude photos of her and coordinated with WITHERSPOON and AUSTIN. WITHERSPOON picked up the survivor at Port Authority and took her to his Harlem apartment. For the two weeks the survivor was there, WITHERSPOON controlled her schedule and income, and she witnessed him possessing multiple firearms.
On February 9, 2023, the second survivor left the apartment and called 911 from the street after WITHERSPOON assaulted her. He was arrested the next day. Two firearms were recovered from WITHERSPOON’s apartment pursuant to a search warrant.
Assistant D.A.s Jeannie Campbell-Urban and Jonathon Junig (Chief of the Human Trafficking Unit) handled the prosecution under the supervision of Executive Assistant D.A. Justin McNabney (Chief of the Special Victims Division). Supervising Investigator Ariela DaSilva, Senior Investigator Sean Ryan, and Senior Investigative Analyst Nina Huang provided valuable support.
District Attorney Bragg thanked the NYPD’s 32nd Precinct, and particularly Police Officer Kevin McDermott, for their work on the case.
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