Farmingville man convicted of sex trafficking

A Farmingville man faces up to 25 years behind bars following his conviction Monday of sex trafficking.

Mitchell Johnson, 38, trafficked a woman by luring her with crack cocaine, controlling her through addiction and threats, and forcing her to engage in paid sex acts with strangers for his own profit, Suffolk District Attorney Raymond Tierney explained following the jury’s guilty verdict.

The jury convicted Johnson of sex trafficking (by force), two additional counts of sex trafficking, and one count of second-degree promoting prostitution.

“Mitchell Johnson used drugs, violence, and coercion to trap a woman in a nightmare of sex trafficking for his own profit,” Tierney said. “Because of this survivor’s extraordinary courage, he now faces justice for the profound harm he inflicted.”

Prosecutors said Johnson deployed a scheme that started in March 2023, when Johnson contacted the victim while posing as another woman.

Once he had her at a motel, Johnson supplied her with crack cocaine to impair her judgment and coerce her into performing paid sexual acts with third parties, Tierney said.

He then used her addiction as a mechanism of control — barring her from keeping any of the money she earned and forbidding her from leaving the motel room alone, Tierney said. Johnson threatened the victim and her family with physical violence if she defied his orders, the district attorney added.

Johnson is due back in court for his sentencing on April 29.