Prosecutors: Bloods gang member used social media to lure women and girls into prostitution

An alleged Bloods gang member is accused of luring young girls and forcing them to work as prostitutes.
Prosecutors say Joshua Lampley-Reid, of West Hempstead, would use social media to find his victims, and violence to keep them under his control. He lured adult women and underage girls, they say, into a dangerous life of drugs and prostitution.
Beginning in December 2019, the now-26-year-old allegedly used social media and other apps to form relationships with women. He would force sex on them and forced them to sleep with others, according to officials.
Court documents say Lampley-Reid trafficked the women between motels in Freeport, East Meadow and Rockville Centre as well as in Florida, North Carolina and Maryland.
Prosecutors said Thursday they have serious concerns for the safety of potential witnesses and the defendant's ability to interfere with them.
D'Angelo Gibson, Lampley-Reid's older brother, defended his sibling.
"He's a good guy. Everybody got faults ... He's innocent of these charges, but nobody's fully innocent," Gibson said.
Lampley-Reid is being held on bail and is due back for a bail hearing June 18.