Bay Shore man pleads guilty in Suffolk sex trafficking case
A Bay Shore man admitted drugging, raping and trafficking a 13-year-old and two other victims across Suffolk County, prosecutors said.
Danny St. Louis, 45, of Bay Shore, admitted in Suffolk County court to raping and trafficking a 13-year-old child and exploiting two other victims in a drug-fueled pattern that prosecutors say stretched across Suffolk County for more than a year.
St. Louis pleaded guilty May 21 to three counts of rape in the second degree, two counts of sex trafficking and related charges before Supreme Court Justice Timothy P. Mazzei. Prosecutors said the case centered on coercion, narcotics and repeated abuse that left a child victim trapped in his control. He faces 15 years in prison.
The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said St. Louis met the 13-year-old in early 2023 through a mutual acquaintance, supplied her with cocaine and introduced her to crack cocaine, deepening her addiction and his control over her. Prosecutors said he sexually abused the child on three separate occasions. They said the abuse continued until October 2023, and that the child was later found with St. Louis in a hotel room on Oct. 8, 2024.
The office said St. Louis also acted to advance prostitution involving two additional victims between March 2023 and March 2024. In one case, prosecutors said, he met a 20-year-old woman at a Hauppauge hotel, gave her crack cocaine, kept her there for two days and filmed sexual conduct after forcing her to undress and shower to repay a supposed debt. Prosecutors said he discussed using the video as an advertisement to sell the victim to sex buyers.
Investigators said the case unfolded through a series of encounters that linked drugs, hotels and electronic evidence. On July 15, 2023, St. Louis was pulled over for a seat-belt violation and allegedly found with cocaine; police recovered four cellphones. Investigators later found three videos of the then-13-year-old victim engaged in sexual performances on those phones.
St. Louis and Samantha Wimmer, 37, of Central Islip, were indicted April 11, 2024 on sex trafficking and other charges tied to the alleged commercial sexual exploitation of two female victims. Prosecutors later said St. Louis faced additional sex-trafficking charges after another victim came forward on Sept. 16, 2024, telling investigators he controlled her with crack cocaine and fentanyl, forced her to perform sex acts for buyers and took the money she earned.
The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said the case was handled by its H.E.A.T. Unit, the Fifth Precinct Anti-Crime Unit of the Suffolk County Police Department and detective investigators from the district attorney’s office. Raymond A. Tierney, who created the H.E.A.T. Unit during his first year in office to combat human trafficking, said the office stands ready to support victims and witnesses who come forward.
This article was produced by Prism’s automated news system from verified source data, official records, and press releases, then run through automated quality and moderation checks before publishing. The system is built and supervised by the people who set the standards it runs under. Read our full AI policy.
Did this article answer your question?
