Two pr-ôstitutes cheered loudly and burst into tears of relief Wednesday when their pimps were acquitted of s-ex trafficking charges. The father-son pimp team of Vincent George Sr. and Vincent George Jr. was accused of brutalizing pr-ôstitutes who worked the streets of Manhattan for them, but the women were devoted to their “daddies” and even testified on their behalf at the nonjury trial.
When Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Ruth Pickholz ruled the Georges were not guilty of s-ex trafficking, Danielle Geissler, 31, and Desiree Ellis, 24, released cries of uncontrollable joy — and had to be told to stop.
The pimps could have faced up to 25 years behind bars under a relatively new state law. In order to be guilty, there would have to be sufficient evidence that threats of violence were at play or that even one victim feared for her health and safety or for their immigration status.
Pickholz did nail the pimps on charges of money laundering and felony prô-moting prô-stitution. The duo could still face up to 15 years behind bars on the top count when they're sentenced July 8.
Pros-titutes Desiree Ellis cries as prôs-titute Danielle Geissler looks on after the father and son pimps Vincent George Jr. and Vincent George Sr. were found not guilty of s-ex trafficking, money laundering and prômoting prôs-titution.
“It’s a victorious day because they are not s-ex traffickers,” said Talea Wufka, who identified herself as a family friend.
Geissler, who has a child with George Jr. and has been working for him for years, balanced her elation at the acquittal against the sobering conviction.
“We don’t know how to feel about it ... We want him home,” said the admitted prôs-titute, who wore a flowing purple dress and flip flops. George Sr.’s daughter, also George Jr.’s sister, worked for the pair and was present, but she left without speaking to reporters. She was also overjoyed at the partial victory for the pimp pair.
Like father, like son. Vincent George Jr. and his dad, Vincent George Sr., pictured at their trial, were acquitted of s-ex trafficking charges in Manhattan Supreme Court on Wednesday. The duo could still face up to 15 years behind bars on the top count when they're sentenced July 8.
"If this is what these women signed up for, who the hell is anybody to tell them different?" said the father's attorney, Howard Greenberg.
The son's lawyer, David Epstein, said the verdict is a "moral victory as well as a legal victory" in that it validates the love the pimps and the women share.
"The reality is there is real love there, but it's unusual to us and to people looking at this case," Epstein said.
But prosecutors told a very different story and said allusions to violence and "ass whoopings" over money on wiretapped calls show the women were coerced.
They argued the women were lured into "the life" at a young age and were conditioned through traumatic bonding to accept their lot and adore their pimp daddies.
Desiree Ellis, 24, shown testifying at the Georges’ trial, was elated Wednesday when Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Ruth Pickholz ruled her 'daddies' not guilty of s-ex trafficking. The pimps could have faced up to 25 years behind bars under a relatively new state law.
In one call, Junior grilled one of the women after she told him she had met with a cop.
"What the f--- did he want exactly? I want word for word or I'm knocking your f---in' teeth out," he said.
DA Cyrus Vance said the verdict was a victory in that the illicit family business was shuttered as a result of the case.
"This was an investigation designed to shut down the criminal enterprise from top to bottom, supply to demand, and that was achieved," the DA said in a phone interview. He maintained the women were victimized through ongoing threats.
"We obviously believed that the evidence supported proof of coercion and threat, and our office will take tough cases, and it's our job to bring the cases we believe are legally sustainable," the DA added.
Sonia Ossorio, the president of the New York City chapter of the National Organization for Women, attended the trial and credited the DA with pressing ahead with a difficult case that involved prô-stitutes swearing on the stand that they had rosy family lives.
"The image of these women living the good life and being fully in control of their lives was dismantled in that courtroom," she said.
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