The owner of a private jet company was arrested Saturday and charged with multiple counts of sex trafficking after being caught by an undercover officer for allegedly sex trafficking children throughout New York City.
Paul Alexander, 57, was arrested and charged with “multiple counts of Sex Trafficking of a Child, Attempted Sex Trafficking of a Child, related counts of First and Second Degrees of Promoting Prostitution, and two counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child,” according to a press release by the New York attorney general’s office.
“The initial investigation began in March after a female minor reported Alexander to the NYPD, alleging that Alexander sexually abused her and other underage girls, and promoted them for prostitution to other men,” the release said.
Alexander charged an undercover police officer $300 for sex with a 12-year-old and 14-year-old child and allegedly advised the undercover cop to use marijuana and alcohol to make the victims more cooperative, according to a criminal complaint.
Alexander is the first to be charged with the newly enacted crime of child sex trafficking in New York state, which carries a steeper penalty than trafficking of adults.
According to his record on the New York sex offender registry, Alexander was already a registered sex offender and has previously been convicted of first-degree sexual abuse and possession of child pornography.
New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement, “After our investigation with NYPD we arrested and charged Paul Alexander with multiple counts of sex trafficking minors. There is nothing more reprehensible than sexually exploiting a child and I will use every tool at my disposal to hold this individual accountable.”
Alexander faces up to 50 years in prison if convicted of all counts.
He was remanded Saturday and ordered to return to court on Dec. 8, the attorney general’s office said.
