Self-professed “happy” hooker Desiree Ellis testified for her pimps. (Steven Hirsch)
A Manhattan judge acquitted father-and-son pimps of sex trafficking but nailed them on lesser prostitution charges today, leaving both sides claiming victory in the “happy hooker” case.
Vincent George, Sr. and Jr., could still spend up to 15 years in prison after Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Ruth Pickholz convicted them of money laundering and prostitution.
They were both acquitted of the top charge of sex trafficking, in the non-jury trial.
Working gals Desiree Ellis and Danielle Geissler were in court today supporting their former bosses as they had during trial, even testifying in their pimps’ behalf.
Ellis – wearing tight white slacks, white platform shoes and a blank-and-white tank top – smiled broadly after “not guilty” was read but then frowned when “guilty” counts emerged moments later.
Both defendants have been in custody and their sentencing was set for July 8.
The pimps’ operation was based in Allentown, Pa., and three of the hookers testified that they were Jr.’s employees and “sister-wives” by choice and enjoyed an affluent lifestyle.
A defense lawyer called one of his clients’ employees a “happy hooker.”
“Pimps are criminals. For too long, these defendants had free reign over women’s lives and bodies, but, for these pimps, this story should have no fairytale ending,” said Manhattan DA Cy Vance said.
“The goal of this prosecution was to dismantle a profitable criminal enterprise from the top down, addressing both supply and demand. The felony convictions today achieve that goal.”
Jr.’s defense lawyer David Epstein also claimed a measure of victory.
“It’s a vindication of the love that these witnesses have for my client Vincent George Junior and the love he has for them,” Epstein said, as hookers stood beside him crying.
“They tried to downplay it, they tried to make fun of it, they tried to contradict it but the reality is there is real love there whether it’s unusual to us.
“It’s a moral victory as well as a legal victory.”
The split verdict still left Ellis in tears.
“We want him [Jr.] home,” she sobbed.
Additional reporting by David K. Li