Foster Parent and Her Husband Charged With Trafficking Eight Women, Including Two Placed in Her Care

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Jr., today announced the indictment of KAREEM MITCHELL, 38, a/k/a “Napoleon,” and his wife SHARICE MITCHELL, 51, for running a sex trafficking operation involving at least eight women beginning in 2018. Two of the women had been placed in SHARICE MITCHELL’s care in her role as a certified New York State foster parent. The defendants are charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with Sex Trafficking and Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree. KAREEM MITCHELL is additionally charged with Promoting Prostitution in the Third Degree and Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree.
 
“Sex traffickers target the most vulnerable New Yorkers, including – far too often – young New Yorkers in the child welfare system,” said District Attorney Bragg. “As alleged, instead of providing a safe home, this husband and wife forced eight young women to engage in prostitution. We will continue to prioritize proactive investigations like these to dismantle sex trafficking operations and keep New Yorkers safe.”
 
According to court documents and statements made on the record in court, KAREEM MITCHELL ran a sex trafficking operation involving at least eight women between November 2018 and February 2022. He used Instagram and Facebook to recruit women to work for him, then subjected them to verbal and physical abuse to coerce them to engage in prostitution, including in cars and hotels in Midtown and elsewhere in Manhattan, as well as Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx.
 
KAREEM MITCHELL, a registered sex offender stemming from his 2008 federal conviction for transportation of a minor to engage in prostitution and other related charges, was assisted in his trafficking operation by his wife, SHARICE MITCHELL, who is a certified New York State foster parent. SHARICE MITCHELL lied on her application to become a foster parent, claiming she did not live with her husband – though he was registered to the same address. Two of the eight survivors were women who had been placed in SHARICE MITCHELL’s care as young adults.
 
Assistant D.A.s Lauren Breen and Meaghan Dunigan are handling the prosecution of the case under the supervision of Assistant D.A.s Pierre Griffith (Deputy Chief of the Human Trafficking Response Unit), Justin McNabney (Deputy Chief of the Human Trafficking Response Unit), and Andrew Warshawer (Deputy Chief of the Trial Division), as well as Executive Assistant D.A. Joyce Smith (Chief of the Trial Division). The investigation was led by the Special Victims Investigation Squad, under the supervision of Supervising Rackets Investigator Elena Lui, with Human Trafficking Investigators Ariela DaSilva and Sean Ryan and Analysts Jackie Karp and Jodi Lessner.
 
 
Defendant Information:
 
KAREEM MITCHELL, a/k/a “NAPOLEON,” a/k/a “PO,” a/k/a “KAM MILLER”
Bronx, NY
 
Charges:

• Sex Trafficking, a class B felony, 4 counts
• Promoting Prostitution in the Third Degree, a class D felony, 1 count
• Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, a class E felony, 1 count
• Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree, a class A misdemeanor, 1 count

 
SHARICE MITCHELL, a/k/a “SHARICE JENNINGS,” a/k/a “REESE”
Bronx, NY
 
Charges:

• Sex Trafficking, a class B felony, 3 counts
• Promoting Prostitution in the Third Degree, a class D felony, 1 count
• Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, a class E felony, 1 count