NEED TO KNOW
- Oren, Alon and Tal Alexander are accused of trafficking and sexually assaulting women over the course of more than a decade
- The brothers’ federal trial began Tuesday in Manhattan
- Oren and Tal are real estate moguls, while Alon is a security executive
The federal sex trafficking trial of the Alexander brothers began in Manhattan on Tuesday, Jan. 27, with opening statements.
Oren, 38, and Tal Alexander, 39, high-profile real estate moguls, and their brother, Alon, 38, a security executive, are charged with sex trafficking, with the alleged incidents taking place over the course of more than a decade.
During opening statements, Assistant U.S. Attorney Madison Smyser referred to the brothers as “predators.”
“These three brothers masqueraded as party boys when really they were predators,” Smyser said, per ABC News. “The brothers used whatever means necessary — sometimes drugs, sometimes alcohol, sometimes brute force — to carry out their rapes.”
In a previous court filing, prosecutors alleged that more than 40 women have accused at least one of the brothers of rape or sexual assault over the span of nearly 20 years.
The filing claimed that each brother has been accused of forcible rape by at least 10 different women.
The indictment against the brothers accuses them of dating women they met through social contacts, luring the women with the promise of luxury experiences or material goods and then allegedly raping them.
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The brothers have denied the allegations in the federal indictment as well as in the several lawsuits filed by women accusing them of sexual assault.
Defense attorney Teny Geragos, who previously served on the defense team of Sean “Diddy” Combs, attempted to paint the brothers’ activities as consensual hook-ups, saying the trio “pursued women,” per ABC.
“That’s not trafficking,” Geragos reportedly said. “That’s dating. That’s hooking up.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
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