By Tiffany Williams –
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Valezka Echeverrias, 31, of Jackson Heights, has been indicted on multiple charges, including sex trafficking, grand larceny, and promoting prostitution, for allegedly forcing women into prostitution along Roosevelt Avenue. The indictment also includes charges of coercion and extortion, stemming from demands that victims pay daily sums to the defendant.
Echeverrias, who has been in custody since a November 2024 indictment on related charges, was arraigned Friday on an 11-count indictment. The charges include three counts of sex trafficking, two counts of promoting prostitution in the second degree, promoting prostitution in the fourth degree, and multiple counts of grand larceny. Supreme Court Justice Peter Vallone ordered her to return to court on September 18. If convicted of the top charge, she faces up to 25 years in prison.
According to the indictment, in November 2022, Echeverrias allegedly brought a woman from Mexico to live with her for six months, forcing her to pay $800 a night by engaging in sex acts and coercing her to steal from clients. Physical abuse was reportedly used to enforce compliance. She is also accused of extorting another woman in 2023, demanding $100 a day under threats of physical harm if she did not comply.
DA Katz said, “Human trafficking is a violent, dehumanizing trade that exploits and destroys lives. The defendant is accused of terrorizing numerous victims along Roosevelt Avenue, forcing them to engage in sex acts and profiting from their misery.”
Echeverrias will face the courts again in mid-September to answer to the charges levied by the DA’s office.