A Queens man has been charged with sex trafficking and rape after investigators said he forced two teenage girls into prostitution.
Officials said Thursday that 20-year-old Dayshawn Preston held a 19-year old woman captive in the basement of his family's home in Jamaica from August until Tuesday.
According to the Queens District Attorney's office, the victim was required to make $500 a night, and Preston would threaten her at gunpoint if she tried to stop.
Investigators said Preston would deprive her of food or a shower, or hit her if she did not turn over the money she made.
At some point, according to investigators, Preston forced a second teenager girl into prostitution and held her captive.
Residents NY1 spoke with were shocked to learn that this happened in their neighborhood.
"The life hasn't really started yet, and to be involved in something like that it'll have consequences later on in their life," one local man said about the girls.
"It really surprised me, really surprised me," another man said. "This is a decent neighborhood."
Officials said that if convicted, Preston faces up to 25 years in prison.