NEW YORK, Aug 31, CMC -A Barbadian national has been convicted in New York on multiple counts of sex trafficking, promoting prostitution, and drug possession, following a trial that prosecutors say exposed his use of drugs and violence to control his victim.
Michael Howell, 65, was found guilty on Tuesday in Suffolk County Supreme Court on two counts of sex trafficking, promoting prostitution in the second and third degrees, and two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, including fentanyl and a large quantity of cocaine. He was also convicted of possessing a controlled substance in the seventh degree, a misdemeanor.
Howell is scheduled to be sentenced on September 26 and faces up to 25 years in prison. The United States Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lodged a detainer for his deportation to Barbados once his sentence is served.
Prosecutors said Howell, who lived in Brooklyn, exploited an unidentified woman between April 2023 and February 2024, advertising her services online and pocketing the proceeds from sex work in Suffolk and Nassau counties. Reports in the New York Post described him as a “violent migrant pimp,” who forced the woman into hotel encounters by assaulting her and keeping her dependent on crack cocaine and heroin.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney condemned Howell’s methods, saying:
“Michael Howell preyed upon his victim by using crack, heroin and violence to maintain control over her in order to profit from her exploitation. The use of addictive substances to keep trafficking victims dependent and compliant is a particularly cruel tactic employed by human traffickers.”
The court heard evidence that Howell repeatedly turned violent when the victim resisted his demands, at one point slamming her head against a wall. He facilitated the trafficking by renting hotel rooms and placing online advertisements on websites often linked to prostitution.
The case was tried before Acting Supreme Court Justice Karen M. Wilutis. Howell was arrested in February carrying fentanyl and cocaine.
Suffolk officials have been grappling with what they describe as one of the most serious human trafficking problems in the country. Deputy County Executive Sylvia Diaz noted earlier this year, “We are in the top 20th percentile for human trafficking in the nation. This is a distinction that no county would want to have.”
In response, County Executive Ed Romaine launched “Operation Safe & Last Return,” a countywide initiative to improve coordination among agencies, strengthen tracking of missing persons, and disrupt trafficking networks. The programme followed the high-profile case of a 14-year-old girl from East Patchogue who was allegedly kidnapped and held for nearly a month before being rescued from a boat in Islip.
Howell’s conviction, prosecutors said, highlights both the dangers of trafficking and the lengths traffickers go to in exploiting vulnerable individuals for profit.
CMC/nb/2025