GOSHEN – A former Newburgh woman who was convicted of two counts of sex trafficking based on her guilty plea, has had her sentence reduced in an appeal.
While her prison sentence will stand of up to 12 years in prison, the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court has reduced the post-release term for Franiqua Patterson from the 20 years ordered by Orange County Court Judge Craig Stephen Brown to five years.
“We find that the court’s imposition of an enhanced sentence of 20 years of post-release supervision on each count rendered excessive,” the appeals court decision stated.
In county court, Patterson admitted that she compelled a 15-yeaer-old girl to engage in prostitution by threats of violence. Patterson admitted she forced the girl to act as a prostitute by beating and threatening her and she admitted to taking most of the money the girl received from the sex acts.
Patterson also admitted that she compelled a 19-year-old girl to engage in prostitution by threatening and beating her and also took most of her money.
Patterson also admitted that she attempted to assault another woman with a knife while inside a Newburgh apartment, causing the victim to suffer lacerations to her arms.
