(NewsNation) — Brooklyn pimp Somorie Moses, whose nicknames include “Sugar Bear,” was sentenced to life in prison Friday for the sex trafficking of eight women and for murdering Leondra Foster.
Moses, 48, pleaded guilty in September 2023 to nine counts of sex-trafficking eight victims and one count of murder. According to prosecutors, he coerced women into prostitution with lies, beatings and threats.
At the sentencing hearing Friday morning, the Brooklyn federal court heard victim impact statements from several of the defendant’s victims. This prosecution is the first use of the federal statute criminalizing murder in the course of sex trafficking.
“The life sentence imposed today on Somorie Moses is significant because it reflects the brutality and utter depravity of his crimes against vulnerable women and girls, which were committed over nearly two decades,” attorney Breon Peace said in a news release. “The defendant forced his victims into prostitution through violence and beatings, and then murdered and dismembered Leondra Foster.
“A lengthy prison sentence cannot undo the extreme and lasting harm Moses has inflicted on his victims, but incarceration will prevent this killer who clearly has no respect for human life from victimizing others. It is my hope that today’s sentence brings some closure to the victims and their families.”
Family members of Foster celebrated the sentencing and packed the courtroom for the emotional hearing, according to a report from New York Daily News.
According to prosecutors, Foster was killed by blunt force trauma in January 2017 and cut with a knife and a saw into nine pieces by Moses, who disposed of her torso and other body parts at a Bronx transfer station, storing her head, hands and feet, one tattooed “Somorie,” in a freezer. She was 32 at the time of her murder.
“Today’s sentence reaffirms the commitment of the NYPD and our law enforcement partners to protect and support all the victims and survivors of sex trafficking,” NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said.