Michael Howell, of Brooklyn, gets 'life sentence' for sex trafficking woman at several Suffolk motels

A Suffolk judge sentenced a Brooklyn man to 13 to 29 years in state prison Friday, saying he committed "horrible acts" on a "vulnerable woman" he was convicted of sex trafficking at motels around Suffolk County last year.

Michael Howell, 65, will serve between 8 and 24 years for sex trafficking followed by a consecutive 5-year sentence for criminal possession of a controlled substance, acting Supreme Court Justice Karen M. Wilutis said at his sentencing in Riverhead.

Wilutis noted Howell's lack of remorse and accusations he made against the victim following his conviction as factors in her sentence.

"The defendant denies the crimes and expresses no remorse," Wilutis said, noting she does not believe he can be rehabilitated. "Only a lengthy prison sentence will be a deterrent for society at large and this defendant specifically."

Witnesses at trial testified that Howell used physical violence and withheld heroin, cocaine and money from a woman he housed in Suffolk County motels, advertising her on websites where sex is promoted in exchanged for money.

Police and prosecutors alleged Howell housed and advertised at least three women at motels in Huntington Station, Lindenhurst and Copiague. The criminal charges at trial related to one victim who testified.

Howell was arrested on Feb. 1, 2024, after the woman, who was staying with him at the Rodeway Inn in Huntington Station, unknowingly approached an undercover police detective outside of the motel, according to trial testimony.

Howell was found with a large quantity of cocaine and had a variety of condoms in a backpack when stopped by Suffolk County Police Department investigators outside his room, a detective told the jury.

Howell met the testifying victim at the Long Island Rail Road station in Jamaica and controlled her from April 2023 until his arrest, according to trial testimony.

Assistant Suffolk County District Attorney Vanessa Overland told Wilutis that Howell exploited the victim and forced her to have sex while keeping drugs from her "to show that he controlled her."

"He received all the proceeds from these forced sex acts," Overland said.

The prosecutor said Howell "demonstrated an aptitude for victim selection and predatory behavior."

The victim, in a statement read by Overland, said she lives with "fear, shame and deep pain" from her time with Howell.

"What he did to me was not just a crime, it was a violation of my trust, my safety and my reality," wrote the victim, who was identified only by her initials at sentencing. "Being trafficked will leave scars that I carry for the rest of my life."

Howell, in a more than 14-minute statement to the court in which he disputed many of the allegations made at trial, accused the victim of using his name and credit card to book the motel rooms for herself and friends. He alleged that digital payments he received, which witnesses testified were sent to him in exchange for sex with the victims, was money sent to him by lifelong friends or for a regular poker game. He denied ever beating or sexually assaulting his victim.

"She lies on people," Howell told the judge.

A jury convicted Howell in August of two counts of sex trafficking and multiple felony counts for promoting prostitution and misdemeanor drug possession charges, court records show.

Overland, who tried the case with fellow Assistant District Attorney Melissa Turk, said Howell was previously arrested for but found not guilty of promoting prostitution in New Jersey in 2006. He was also charged with sex trafficking and drug possession in the Bronx in 2010, but was only convicted of the drug offense, she said.

Howell's attorney, Christopher Gioe, of Hauppauge, said his client has maintained his innocence despite his conviction and intends to file an appeal next week.

Gioe called the maximum sentence recommended by prosecutors, which could have seen Howell serve three consecutive terms totaling more than 37 years, a "life sentence."

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has filed a detainer to deport Howell, a Barbados national, after he serves his sentence, prosecutors previously 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.