Sex Trafficking Arrest Takes Place in Brewster
By Anna Young
A Montrose woman was arrested Tuesday for the sex trafficking of a 17-year-old girl that took place in Brewster, following a multi-agency investigation.
According to Joon H. Kim, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jennifer Coviello, 43, pressured the minor to engage in commercial sex acts for Coviello’s profit and introduced the teen to illegal drugs.
Following an investigation conducted by the FBI’s Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force, with assistance from the Putnam County Sherriff’s Department, Coviello was found operating her sex trade out of a Brewster motel for roughly one week in early December.
According to the complaint filed in White Plains federal court, Coviello allegedly posted advertisements of herself and the minor online, sending nude and partially nude photos of the teen to those who inquired. She arranged for customers to meet her and the victim in exchange for cash and told customers the girl was 19-years-old.
Coviello and the victim also used heroin together during their weeklong hotel stay, the complaint said.
“Today’s arrest takes an allegedly dangerous woman off the street and is a testament to the continued cooperation between our federal and local law enforcement partners to combat the exploitation of children in our communities,” Kim said.
Charges include one count of sex trafficking of a minor, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years. She is also charged with one count of use of interstate facilities to promote a prostitution enterprise, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
“My office is grateful to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI for their diligent work in helping to put an end to this deplorable case, stopping the victimization of a young woman and bringing the perpetrator to justice,” Sheriff Smith said in the press release. “This case is yet another example of how effective law enforcement can be when local agencies, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office all work together to fight crime and to help keep Putnam County and the Hudson Valley safe.”
Coviello was convicted of petit larceny in May and released in October, during which time a court issued an order of protection for the young girl, the complaint said. Coviello has allegedly been soliciting prostitution customers for herself and the teen victim since 2015.
The Office’s White Plains Division is handling the case. Assistant United States Attorney Jacqueline Kelly is in charge of the prosecution.
“There are simply no words to express how despicable human behavior can be at times, and in law enforcement we see a lot of laws in human behavior,” said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. “But for a woman to allegedly sell an underage girl for sex is too much to understand.”
