Bedford-Stuyvesant

Brooklyn sex trafficker gets 6 years

Asks for new attorney last minute

April 4, 2018 By Paul Frangipane Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Ronald Gonzalez stands next to his attorney Marisa Benton in Brooklyn Supreme Court. Eagle photo by Paul Frangipane
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A Bedford-Stuyvesant sex trafficker made a last ditch effort to change his attorney before a Brooklyn judge sentenced him to six years in prison on Wednesday.

After pleading guilty to sex trafficking on Feb. 28 for forcing women into prostitution in his home, Ronald Gonzalez tried to shorten his promised sentence at the last minute by asking for a new lawyer.

“I feel that my attorney wasn’t competent on my type of charges,” the 33-year-old told Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun.

While his lawyer Marisa Benton disagreed with her client’s claims, she said he should have an opportunity to speak with a new attorney. The judge quickly shot down the idea and proceeded with sentencing.

When it came time for Gonzalez to make a statement, he continued to express his confusion about the plea deal before Chun cut him off and dealt the prison term.

Inside his Bed-Stuy home in 2016, Gonzalez forced a woman to have sex with men for money, threatening her when she tried to leave, according to a criminal complaint. Specifically, he wrangled her neck and beat other women in front of her saying, “If you leave there will be problems.”

Also charged with both promoting and permitting prostitution, prosecutors said he brought multiple women into prostitution until he was arrested on Dec. 27, 2016.

In addition to the prison time, Gonzalez is required to register as a sex offender.

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