Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., announced today the sentencing of CURTIS HAMLET, a/k/a “Chase,” a/k/a “Chase Izzm,” 36, to 18 years in state prison for his role in a sex trafficking operation that spanned between New York and Miami. For more than two years, Hamlet recruited three 17-year-old girls to engage in prostitution and exploited at least eight other women. HAMLET pleaded guilty to four counts of Sex Trafficking, including three counts related to child sex trafficking, on March 15, 2023.
“Curtis Hamlet heinously exploited girls and young women in furtherance of his sex trafficking scheme. My thoughts are with these young survivors as they continue to heal,” said District Attorney Bragg. “I thank the dedicated prosecutors and investigators of my Office’s Human Trafficking Unit and our law enforcement partners in New York and Miami, for putting an end to this horrific multi-city operation and fighting for accountability.”
As admitted in his plea and statements made on the record in court, HAMLET used social media to communicate with and recruit a 17-year-old girl into HAMLET’s sex trafficking scheme beginning in January 2020. From January 2020 to March 2020, HAMLET trafficked the young woman, housing her in Manhattan and compelling her to perform commercial sex acts on a regular basis. HAMLET also recruited another 17-year-old girl from California in June 2020. HAMLET paid for the girl to travel to Miami to meet him, and then drove her to Manhattan, where she engaged in prostitution for HAMLET until his arrest in September 2020. HAMLET admitted in his guilty plea that he physically beat and abused other women in his sex trafficking enterprise, including having thrown one woman down a flight of stairs.
The Manhattan D.A.’s Office’s Human Trafficking Unit and its dedicated investigators, working with the NYPD’s Human Trafficking Team, obtained court-authorized wiretaps for the defendant’s phone, leading to an expanded investigation of HAMLET’s ongoing exploitation of girls and young women. The investigation revealed that HAMLET operated his sex trafficking scheme between New York and Miami, and that he prostituted at least ten women over the course of this year, including two girls under the age of 18.
If you may be a victim of trafficking or know someone who may be a victim, please call the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office’s human trafficking helpline at 212-335-3400.
Assistant D.A. Keith Savino handled the prosecution of these cases with the assistance of Assistant D.A. Lauren Breen and under the supervision of Assistant D.A.s Courtney Razner, Deputy Chief of the Human Trafficking Unit, and Executive Assistant D.A. Justin McNabney, Chief of the Special Victims Division. Investigators Sean Ryan and Ariela DaSilva and Supervising Investigator Elena Lui, Investigative Analysts Janine Nassar and Grace Lubin, and Trial Preparation Assistants Tiffany Gilligan and Audrey Blumenstock provided invaluable support during the investigation and prosecution. Melissa Martinez, the Human Trafficking Clinical Director, provided countless hours of outreach, care, and counseling to the victims in this case for over two years, which has been critical to their recovery.
District Attorney Bragg thanked the NYPD’s Human Trafficking Team, including Detective Joannie Colon, Sergeant Robert DuPlessis, and Lieutenant Amy Capogna. He also thanked Detective Keno Chambers of the 23rd Precinct.
District Attorney Bragg also thanked the Miami State Attorney’s Office, particularly Assistant State Attorney Alicia Priovolos, as well as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, including Special Agent Christina Dindal and Probationary Special Agent Elizabeth Suarez, for their assistance with the investigation.
Defendant:
CURTIS HAMLET, a/k/a “Chase,” a/k/a “Chase Izzm”
Queens, NY
Convicted:
- Sex Trafficking of a Child, a class B felony, three counts
- Sex Trafficking, a class B felony, one count
Sentenced:
- 18 years in state prison, 5 years of post-release supervision and SORA.
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