A Corona man has been indicted on sex trafficking charges for allegedly forcing a Mexican woman to engage in prostitution over a three-year period, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Wednesday.
Galindo Capultitla, 39, of 40th Road, was arraigned Tuesday before Queens Supreme Court Justice Peter Vallone Jr. on a seven-count indictment charging him with three counts of sex trafficking and other crimes for forcing the victim to engage in sex for money in Mexico and the United States, including in Queens. During the victim’s three-year ordeal, Capultitla allegedly hit and choked her—and even threatened to kill her family in Mexico—if she failed to hand over the money gained through sex.
According to the charges, Capultitla met the 25-year-old victim in Mexico in 2021 and coerced her to engage in sex for money there. In May 2023, he forced the victim to go to the U.S. for the same purpose and she sent money to his account in Mexico on a weekly basis.
Last August, Capultitla came to the U.S. and moved in with the victim on 40th Road near Roosevelt Avenue in Corona. He allegedly took her to locations in New York, New Jersey, and Virginia to engage in sex for money. He also demanded that she give him at least $2,000 a week from prostitution.
When she failed to produce the required amount of money, Capultitla allegedly beat her and threatened to kill her relatives, according to the charges. One such beating was caught on tape.
On Jan. 7, at approximately 3:30 a.m., Capultitla waited outside the 40th Road residence, where video surveillance shows that he accosted the victim, hitting her in the chest and neck. The assault continued inside the apartment, where he allegedly punched her in the head, shoved her and grabbed her arm. A call was made to 911 and Capultitla fled the apartment. The victim went to live elsewhere and on Monday, detectives from the NYPD’s Human Trafficking Team took Capultitla into custody.
“The fight against human trafficking and traffickers is a difficult one,” Katz said. “We have to do everything that we can to save the victims from being sexually exploited and physically abused. It is why I created a Human Trafficking Bureau and why cases such as this one are so important.”
In addition to the sex trafficking charges, Capultitla was also charged with promoting prostitution, coercion, and assault. If convicted, Capultitla faces up to 25 years in prison. Justice Vallone ordered him to return to court on March 21.