Alexander brothers convicted of sex trafficking
Michael R. Sisak And Larry Neumeister
New York: Three brothers, including two of the country’s most successful luxury real estate brokers, were convicted on sex trafficking charges after a five-week trial on charges that they drugged and forced to rape scores of women they dazzled with their wealth and lavish lifestyles.
The decision came after 11 women testified Monday (New York time) that they had been sexually assaulted by one or more brothers: twin brothers Oren and Alon Alexander, 38, and Tal Alexander, 39.
The women described attacks that occurred after they were invited to vacation destinations such as the Hamptons, a Caribbean cruise and a ski trip in Aspen, Colorado. More than 60 women say they were raped by one or more brothers, according to prosecutors.
Defense attorneys argued that the accusers had faulty memories or were hoping to cash in on the brothers’ fortune. Their lawyers admitted that the brothers were womanizers. But they insisted that any sex was consensual. The jury began deliberations on Thursday.
Before starting their own firm, Offical, Oren and Tal Alexander were brokers at real estate giant Douglas Elliman. Alon Alexander worked for the family’s private security firm.
In addition to the criminal case, the trio also faced nearly two dozen lawsuits; one of which was opened by star actress Tracy Tutor on Thursday. Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles On Bravo. She alleges that Oren Alexander drugged and assaulted her in a restaurant restroom while she was in New York for a real estate event.
When these lawsuits first began to be filed, scores of women came forward claiming that they, too, had been sexually harassed or assaulted and that the brothers’ abuse of women had been an open secret in the real estate world for years.
In March 2024, Australian woman Kate Whiteman accused Oren and Alon of raping and kidnapping her, triggering an FBI investigation into the brothers.
But he never had his day in court. Last month, his lawyers agreed to pause the civil case before the New York Supreme Court to allow the criminal case to take precedence over his claims.
He was found dead in Cowra in Central West NSW late last year. His death is not being treated as suspicious.
Many of the women who testified during the trial said they believed they were drugged after one of the brothers gave them alcohol. Some described feeling like they had lost control of their bodies after having less than one drink.
The brothers met women at nightclubs, parties and on dating apps, taking some of them on trips to fancy places and paying for flights and luxury accommodation.
One woman testified that she met the brothers at a party at actor Zac Efron’s Manhattan apartment in 2012. He said he had virtually no interaction with the actor, who has not been charged with any crime, and that he went to a nightclub later in the night, where he then woke up naked to find a naked Alon Alexander standing over him.
Prosecutors pushed back on the idea that the accusers were hoping to make money from the cases. Prosecutor Elizabeth Espinosa told jurors that only two of them had pending cases and that both were wealthy.
A woman who testified said she was raped by Alon Alexander in Aspen, Colorado, in 2017, when she was 17 years old. She said she was the daughter of a billionaire.
“I don’t want their money. I just don’t want them to have it,” he told jurors.
Lindsey Acree, an artist and gallery owner in Brooklyn, testified that she was raped by Tal Alexander and a second man at a home in the Hamptons in the summer of 2011 after drinking less than half a glass of wine left her so disoriented that she felt paralyzed.
The woman, now 40, said she filed a lawsuit against Tal Alexander last year but said she “will never need their money” because she was upset that Alexander “continues to call us gold diggers, to crush artists, scammers.”
“If there’s a kid with a stick who keeps hitting people, take his stick away from you,” he told the jury. “Money is their cudgel, so you take it away so they can’t hurt people anymore.”
The Associated Press generally does not identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they choose to go public, as Acree and Tutor do.
In addition to witness testimony, prosecutors also sought to prove their case through text and email messages in which the brothers bragged about their knowledge of their sexual exploits and the effects of various drugs on women’s inhibitions, as well as a blog that included a post titled: “If it’s not rape…”
Prosecutors said the brothers emailed about secretly sending drugs or “party favors” to a cruise ship, videotaped at least one attack and shared photos of the victims.
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Anyone needing support can contact 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732), the National Sexual Exploitation and Reparations Support Service 1800 211 028, Lifeline 13 11 14 and Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800.
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