Once high-powered and influential brothers set to be sentenced for sex trafficking

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Three brothers who once lived at the height of wealth and society in New York and Miami could face life in prison for sex trafficking more than a dozen women and girls when they are sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan.

Earlier this year a jury convicted Tal, Alon and Oren Alexander on all counts, including sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking. At trial, prosecutors presented evidence of the brothers’ yearslong pattern of using their wealth and social status to lure women to lavish parties or vacation destinations, drug them, then violently rape and sexually assault their victims – many of whom were unconscious or severely incapacitated.

Before their arrests, Tal, 40, and Oren, 39, were best known for scaling New York’s luxury real estate industry. Alon, Oren’s twin, was an executive at their family’s security firm and frequented the same social circles with his brothers.

Over 70 women came forward to investigators, reporting harrowing accounts of the brothers’ attacks, prosecutors said in their sentencing memo. Ultimately, 11 women testified during the five-week trial about being sexually assaulted by one or more of the Alexander brothers. Several are expected to address the court at the sentencing Tuesday.

Prosecutors want the three men to spend the rest of their lives in federal prison. Attorneys for the Alexanders are seeking the lowest possible sentence of 15 years and deny the men ever drugged or raped any women.

The assaults occurred in luxury locations in the Hamptons, Aspen, Manhattan, the Bahamas and on a Caribbean cruise. The convictions are tied to crimes spanning from 2008 to 2021, but prosecutors say the pattern of serial rape and sexual assault traces back to 2001 or 2002, when the brothers were still in high school.

Trial evidence showed the brothers recorded some of the assaults they committed – often together or with other men in videos and photographs – sharing them with each other and friends. The jury saw some of that evidence, which was recovered from the men’s devices years after the recorded assaults.

One victim, who was 17 when she was drugged by Oren Alexander, testified she only learned she was raped when contacted by government investigators who identified her in a 2009 recording.

All three men were convicted of sex trafficking, conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, and inducement to travel for unlawful sexual activity. Alon and Tal Alexander were also convicted of sex trafficking a minor. The twins were convicted of additional sex abuse counts, and the jury also found Oren Alexander guilty of sexual exploitation of a minor.

Prosecutors say the severity of the crimes warrants the maximum possible sentence. Their sentencing memo cites sentencing enhancements the government says should weigh in favor of longer prison terms, like victims who were especially vulnerable as minors or from being drugged or unconscious, and the use of force and physical restraint during the sexual assaults.

When Alon and Oren were nearly 30 years old, they drugged and sexually assaulted high schoolers in Aspen in January 2017, trial evidence revealed. In August 2016, when Tal was 30 years old, he assaulted an 18-year-old, prosecutors allege , though the woman did not testify at trial.

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A woman testified she wrote “rapists” in eyeliner on the wall of their Hamptons rental in 2009 after witnessing two of the brothers drag an intoxicated woman to the hot tub and take turns raping her.

Prosecutors, who say the men haven’t expressed any remorse, have asked federal district judge Valerie Caproni to sentence all the men to life in prison.

“They were not party boys, playboys, womanizers, or misguided young men. They were predators. They spent years hunting and preying upon women because they wanted to, because they could, and because they kept getting away with it,” the government’s sentencing memo says.

Lawyers for the brothers maintain they didn’t drug or rape any of the women they were sexually involved with but conceded in a court filing the conduct was at times insensitive.

“They apologize to the women they insulted or offended,” their lawyers wrote. “The evidence at trial showed virtually every woman who testified had drank some alcohol. The centerpiece of the government’s case is that the defendants surreptitiously drugged women. The Alexander brothers deny this completely and emphatically,” their lawyers wrote.

The defense has asked the judge to sentence the brothers to 15 years in prison, the lightest sentence possible for a conviction on one count of sex trafficking through force, fraud or coercion.

A longer sentence, they argued, would be out of touch with sentences given to people convicted of state murder charges, who serve an average of 15 years.

The brothers’ legal team takes issue with the sex trafficking statute used to prosecute the brothers, arguing their conduct doesn’t match conduct the statute was intended to punish — people who force women into prostitution or commercial sex acts. They also argued some of the evidence allowed in was “remarkably weak.”

“It was charged as a sex trafficking case and it was tried as a federal rape case,” Marc Agnifilo, who represents Oren Alexander, said at a hearing last week. “We’ll have a lot of things to say about that on sentencing day.”

The lawyers also argued the brothers, who in recent years married and had children, should not spend their lives behind bars because they are “dedicated husbands and fathers” and needed by their families. Over three dozen letters from friends, family and neighbors describing their generosity and kindness were submitted.

The lawyers have argued the alleged conspiracy ended when the brothers married, so they are no longer at risk to the community.

Alon Alexander’s lawyer Howard Srebnick said the alleged conspiracy ended when he “abandoned the ‘single-life’” and announced his engagement.

“There are no other accusers out there,” Srebnick told the judge at last week’s hearing.

The judge said she has no way to know what the men have been up to in the last five years.

Judge Caproni asked the attorneys to be prepared to discuss whether the brothers should serve their time in the same prison, saying she didn’t think it was a good idea.

“These three men are terrible influences on each other,” Caproni said during last week’s hearing. “The question is whether, given that very firm view on my part that they are bad influences on each other, whether they would be better served and whether society would be better served if they were to be separate.”

Lawyers for the brothers said they help ensure each others’ safety and mental health and serving time at the same facility would make it easier for their elderly parents in Florida to visit them. Since their arrest, the lawyers said, the parents visit their sons weekly at the Metropolitan Detention Center, the federal jail in Brooklyn, New York, where they have been held.

More than 10 victims are also expected to speak Tuesday before the judge. Some of the women expected to address the court did not testify at trial and could discuss new allegations against the brothers not charged in the indictment, prosecutors have said.

The hearing is expected to take several hours and could spill into a second day. All three men are planning to address the court, and their attorneys will give a presentation on each brother’s behalf, according to court filings.

The twins also face two pending rape cases in Florida state court. All three still face several civil lawsuits brought by their accusers.

岩村由纪/彭博社/盖蒂图片社

三兄弟曾生活在纽约和迈阿密的上流社会，他们因贩卖十几名妇女和女孩进行性交易，可能面临终身监禁。周二，曼哈顿联邦法院将对他们进行判决。

今年早些时候，陪审团裁定塔尔、阿隆和奥伦·亚历山大三兄弟所有罪名成立，包括性交易和串谋进行性交易。庭审中，检方出示的证据显示，这三兄弟多年来利用其财富和社会地位，诱骗女性参加奢华派对或前往度假胜地，给她们下药，然后对她们实施暴力强奸和性侵犯——其中许多受害者当时处于昏迷或严重丧失行为能力的状态。

被捕前，40岁的塔尔和39岁的奥伦因在纽约豪宅市场大展拳脚而闻名。奥伦的孪生兄弟阿隆是家族安保公司的管理人员，与兄弟俩经常出入相同的社交圈。

检察官在量刑备忘录中指出，超过70名女性向调查人员提供了线索，讲述了这对兄弟令人毛骨悚然的性侵经历。最终，在为期五周的审判中，共有11名女性出庭作证，讲述了她们曾遭到亚历山大兄弟中一名或多名女性的性侵犯。预计其中几名女性将在周二的量刑听证会上发言。

检方希望这三名男子在联邦监狱度过余生。亚历山大三兄弟的律师则寻求最轻的刑罚——15年监禁，并否认他们曾对任何女性下药或强奸。

这些袭击事件发生在汉普顿、阿斯彭、曼哈顿、巴哈马群岛以及加勒比海游轮上的豪华场所。虽然定罪与2008年至2021年间的犯罪有关，但检方表示，这起连环强奸和性侵犯的模式可以追溯到2001年或2002年，当时这对兄弟还在读高中。

庭审证据显示，这对兄弟曾录制过一些他们实施的袭击事件——通常是他们一起或与其他男子一起，用视频和照片记录下来——并将这些内容分享给彼此和朋友。陪审团查看了部分证据，这些证据是在袭击事件发生数年后从两人的电子设备中找到的。

其中一名受害者在 17 岁时被奥伦·亚历山大下药，她作证说，直到政府调查人员联系她，并在 2009 年的一段录音中认出她后，她才知道自己遭到了强奸。

三人均被判犯有性交易罪、共谋性交易罪和诱使他人旅行从事非法性活动罪。阿隆·亚历山大和塔尔·亚历山大还被判犯有性交易未成年人罪。这对双胞胎被判犯有其他性虐待罪，陪审团还认定奥伦·亚历山大犯有性剥削未成年人罪。

检方表示，鉴于罪行的严重性，应判处最高刑罚。他们的量刑备忘录列举了政府认为应加重刑罚的因素，例如受害者未成年、被下药或处于昏迷状态等特别脆弱的情况，以及性侵犯过程中使用暴力和人身限制等，这些因素都应有利于延长刑期。

庭审证据显示，2017年1月，阿隆和奥伦在年近30岁时，在阿斯彭对几名高中生下药并进行性侵。检方指控，2016年8月，30岁的塔尔性侵了一名18岁女子，但该女子并未出庭作证。

迈阿密先驱报/论坛新闻社/盖蒂图片社

一名女子作证说，2009 年，她亲眼目睹两兄弟将一名醉酒女子拖到热水浴缸里轮奸她后，用眼线笔在他们位于汉普顿的租房墙上写下了“强奸犯”几个字。

检察官称这些男子没有表现出任何悔意，并已要求联邦地区法官瓦莱丽·卡普罗尼判处所有男子终身监禁。

“他们不是派对男孩、花花公子、好色之徒或误入歧途的年轻人。他们是掠食者。他们多年来猎捕和侵害女性，因为他们想这样做，因为他们有能力这样做，而且因为他们一直逍遥法外，”政府的量刑备忘录中写道。

兄弟俩的律师坚称，他们没有给任何与他们发生性关系的女性下药或强奸她们，但在法庭文件中承认，他们的行为有时确实缺乏同理心。

“他们向那些被他们侮辱或冒犯的女性道歉，”他们的律师写道。“庭审证据显示，几乎所有作证的女性都喝过酒。政府指控的核心是被告秘密给女性下药。亚历山大兄弟对此予以彻底且坚决的否认，”他们的律师写道。

辩方请求法官判处两兄弟 15 年监禁，这是对一项通过武力、欺诈或胁迫手段进行性交易的罪名成立所能判处的最轻刑罚。

他们认为，更长的刑期与被判犯有州谋杀罪的人的刑期不符，后者的平均刑期为 15 年。

兄弟俩的律师团队对用来起诉他们的性交易法提出异议，认为他们的行为与该法旨在惩罚的行为——强迫女性卖淫或从事商业性行为——并不相符。他们还指出，部分被采纳的证据“极其薄弱”。

“这起案件被指控为性交易案，但却被作为联邦强奸案审理，”奥伦·亚历山大的代理律师马克·阿格尼菲洛在上周的听证会上说。“在宣判日，我们将就此发表很多看法。”

律师们还辩称，这对兄弟近年来已结婚生子，不应终身监禁，因为他们是“尽职尽责的丈夫和父亲”，他们的家庭需要他们。他们提交了三十多封来自朋友、家人和邻居的信件，描述了他们的慷慨和善良。

律师们辩称，兄弟俩结婚后，所谓的阴谋就结束了，因此他们不再对社区构成威胁。

阿隆·亚历山大的律师霍华德·斯雷布尼克表示，当他“放弃‘单身生活’”并宣布订婚时，所谓的阴谋就结束了。

“没有其他指控者了，”斯雷布尼克在上周的听证会上告​​诉法官。

法官表示，她无从得知这些男子在过去五年里都做了些什么。

卡普罗尼法官要求律师们准备讨论兄弟俩是否应该在同一所监狱服刑，并表示她认为这不是一个好主意。

卡普罗尼在上周的听证会上说：“这三个人对彼此都有非常恶劣的影响。问题是，鉴于我坚信他们彼此之间存在不良影响，如果他们分开，对他们自己和社会是否更有利。”

兄弟俩的律师表示，他们互相帮助，确保彼此的安全和心理健康，而且在同一监狱服刑也能方便他们在佛罗里达州的年迈父母探望他们。律师还说，自被捕以来，他们的父母每周都会去位于纽约布鲁克林的联邦监狱——大都会拘留中心探望他们的儿子。

预计周二将有十余名受害者在法官面前作证。检方表示，部分预计将在法庭上发言的女性此前并未在庭审中作证，她们可能会谈及针对起诉书中未被指控的兄弟俩的新指控。

预计听证会将持续数小时，并可能延续到第二天。根据法庭文件，三名被告均计划在法庭上发言，他们的律师将分别代表每位兄弟进行陈述。

这对双胞胎姐妹在佛罗里达州法院还面临两起未决的强奸案。三人均还面临原告提起的数起民事诉讼。