Mitchell Johnson, of Farmingville, used violence and drugs to force woman into sex trafficking, prosecutor says

A staged kidnapping was not enough to keep a vulnerable Long Island woman out of the clutches of a man who allegedly used violence, drugs and intimidation to traffic her for sex, a Suffolk prosecutor argued during opening statements in a Riverhead trial Thursday.

Mitchell Johnson, 39, of Farmingville, is charged with sex trafficking, promoting prostitution, strangulation and sexual abuse for allegedly using violence and drugs to keep a 32-year-old woman working for him out of the Commack Motor Inn in spring 2023, court records show.

When an armed customer helped the mother of two get away, Johnson tracked her down at another hotel and brought her back, Assistant District Attorney Sean Murphy told the jury seated before State Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei.

"She felt that she had no choice but to return," Murphy said. "She was afraid. Afraid for her family. Afraid for her children."

The prosecutor said Johnson initially posed as a woman online to entice his alleged victim, an addict with a history of sex work, to "hang out" with them at the motel in March 2023. When she arrived, Johnson supplied her with what the woman told investigators felt like an "unlimited supply" of crack cocaine, a drug she had stopped using, Murphy said.

"When it was offered to her by [Johnson], she couldn’t resist," the prosecutor said. "She went right back to it like a moth to a flame."

A female co-defendant who entered a cooperation agreement with Suffolk prosecutors is expected to testify that she soon made plans to arrange sex dates for them both and split the profits, Murphy told the jury. The victim eventually noticed she was regularly meeting with customers and Johnson was keeping the money, the prosecutor said.

"Mitchell Johnson recognized and exploited [her addiction] and turned it into a sick and twisted business model," Murphy said, adding that the defendant kept the alleged victim’s key while staying in an adjacent room.

The woman, who prosecutors say feared Johnson might follow through on threats to harm her children, confided in a customer that she hoped to get away. In an effort to protect her, they made it look like the man, who was carrying a gun, had kidnapped her, Murphy said.

Instead, he rented a room for her on April 9, 2023, at the Holiday Inn in Hauppauge, the prosecutor told the jury.

When she refused dates after being returned back to Commack days later, Johnson allegedly ordered his co-defendant, who prosecutors said operated as a "second in command," to beat her. The May 5, 2023, assault led to 911 calls and the start of a police investigation, Murphy said.

Johnson was arrested on Dec. 5, 2024, records show.

Defense attorney Chase Brown, of Central Islip, told the jury that prosecutors shared a convenient version of events, skipping key details along the way.

"We haven’t even gotten to testimony and there’s already stuff they’re leaving out," Brown said during his own opening statement.

The defense attorney noted that the cooperating witness was also charged with sex trafficking, but will have her case dropped in exchange for her testimony.

"If she says everything they want her to say, her case gets dismissed, wiped, sealed, like it never happened," the defense attorney said.

Murphy said a police interrogation video prosecutors expect to play at trial will show Johnson telling investigators he supplied his victim with drugs, ordered her assault and collected her money.

“‘[Expletive] it, I’m a pimp,’" Johnson allegedly told police.

Murphy promised the trial will show jurors a hidden side of Suffolk County and offer a "crash course in the world of sex trafficking."

"A world that’s very far removed from the pristine beaches, the quiet villages and the fine dining that this county is known for," Murphy said.

By Grant Parpan

grant.parpan@newsday.com@GrantParpan

Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.