Mitchell Johnson listens to opening statements at his sex trafficking trial at the Cromarty Criminal Court in Riverhead this month. Credit Michael A. Rupolo Sr.
By Nicole Fuller
Updated April 29, 2026 7:48 pm
A Farmingville man convicted of sex trafficking a woman at the Commack Motor Inn after he got her hooked on crack cocaine declared “I’m not a pimp” before he was sentenced to 15 to 21 years in prison Wednesday.
Mitchell Johnson, 38, of Farmingville, speaking in Suffolk County Court in Riverhead, apologized for his actions, but maintained he didn’t force the victim to have sex for money and he didn’t profit from it.
“I’m sorry to [the victim] who felt I took advantage of her in some way,” said Johnson, who added: “I am not a pimp. I was not pimping. I wasn’t happy with myself and I went on a downward spiral.”
But Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei told Johnson that he didn’t believe him — and said he should have testified during his trial.
“I don’t think you’re telling me the truth about being a pimp. That’s the problem,” Mazzei said. “I don’t necessarily think you deserve the maximum under the law, but I think you’re lying to me.”
Johnson had been convicted during a jury trial of sex trafficking and promoting prostitution, but was acquitted on one count of sex trafficking, two counts of criminal sexual acts and second-degree strangulation. He faced up to 25 years in prison on the convicted counts.
“Today’s sentence reflects the gravity of the harm inflicted on a victim of human trafficking controlled by drugs and violence,” Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney said. “While no punishment can undo the trauma, removing this offender from our streets helps protect others and stands as a commitment to those who have endured exploitation that their voices matter.”
Johnson’s attorney Chase Brown asked the judge to consider that his client was “deprived” of a safe and nurturing childhood — adopted at 18 months old, he was sexually abused by his older sister and began using drugs and alcohol as a youth.
Five of Johnson’s family members wrote letters to the judge that characterized him “as a hard-working man” and a good father to his two children, Brown said.
“While we respect the jury’s verdict and the judge’s sentence, we look forward to the appeal,” Brown said. “Mr. Johnson was facing in excess of 50 years going into this trial but the acquittal of multiple counts at trial and mitigating factors led to the sentence today.”
Johnson posed as a woman online to lure the 32-year-old victim, who had been a drug addict and a sex worker, to go to the Commack Motor Inn in March 2023, prosecutors have said.
Johnson supplied her with what she said was an “unlimited supply of crack cocaine,” a drug she had previously used, prosecutors said. Johnson persuaded the woman to engage in paid sexual acts, using her addiction to control her, and then kept her earnings and forbade her from leaving the motel room alone.
The woman escaped from Johnson with the help of an armed customer who staged a kidnapping, prosecutors said. The man rented a room for her at the Holiday Inn in Hauppauge on April 9, 2023, but Johnson tracked her down and brought her back to the Commack motel. He threatened to harm her and her family if she did not follow his orders.
When the woman refused, Johnson ordered his co-defendant to beat her. That assault on May 5, 2023, resulted in a police investigation, prosecutors said.
Assistant District Attorney Katherine Flinchum, who prosecuted the case along with Sean Murphy, both of the Hate Crimes, Elder Abuse, Anti-Bias, Human Trafficking Unit in the district attorney’s office, told the judge Wednesday that Johnson had not “shown any true remorse.”
He ruled his victims by “intimidation, threats, cruelty and violence,” Flinchum said.
Kaitlynn Madigan, who was the general manager at the Commack Motor Inn and testified against Johnson at this trial, shook her head with disdain as Johnson attempted to downplay his crimes at sentencing.
“He should have gotten much more time,” she said afterward. “This wasn’t enough. Fifteen years when you take away everything from a woman, you attack her.”
