A 21-year-old woman and a teenage girl faced their worst nightmares as they were forced into prostitution.
The unnamed 21-year-old woman and the teenage runaway were forced to work as prostitutes and were not allowed to leave a suburban New York home allegedly for more than a year, before authorities rescued them and arrested the man suspected of keeping the two locked up.
35-year-old Andy Gayot was arrested on Tuesday at his Long Island home when probation department officials obtained a search warrant, after sensing something fishy about the conditions during a prior visit to the two-story home on a quiet middle-class suburban street, Suffolk County Police Det. Lt. Robert Edwards said.
Suffolk County police, probation department officers and FBI agents took part in the arrests.
The suspect pleaded not guilty to prostitution, rape, unlawful imprisonment, weapons, drugs and other charges on Wednesday. A bond of $1,002,500 was set and defence attorney Larry Flowers said his client denied all the allegations. “Once all the facts are known, we believe he will be vindicated,” Larry said.
Det. Lt. Robert said Andy had an extensive history of criminal records with arrests for narcotics, violating orders of protection and driving violations. He also described Andy’s home as a “flop house” where transients would come take place.
Apart from mentioning that the victims were Long Island residents, Robert declined to discuss their conditions and whereabouts. He described the 15-year-old teenager as a runaway and she was allegedly held captive for about four months while the other woman was a captive for over a year. He continued and said that they were not held forcibly but they were victims of physical abuse, threats of force and were fed with large amounts of drugs to keep them compliant.
According to Robert, the women were driven by Andy to undisclosed locations, where they were forced to engage in sex for exchange of money. He said the women never received any compensation. “They got paid in food and narcotics,” said Robert.
Susan Luff, one of Andy’s neighbours said she has seen cars coming and going regularly at the house over the past few months but had no clue about the women allegedly being held.
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