STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A Staten Island man accused of sex trafficking a teenager in a Bay Street apartment has accepted a guilty plea in the case.
Isaiah Wright, 28, of Stapleton, pleaded guilty Thursday in state Supreme Court, St. George, to attempted sex trafficking of a child in connection with his arrest in January, court records show.
In exchange for his plea, the defendant is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 8 by Judge Alexander B. Jeong to nine years in prison and 15 years of parole.
Wright’s attorney, a public defender with the Legal Aid Society, declined to comment.
Undercover bust on Bay Street
Wright was arrested in January after an undercover detective made arrangements to have sex for $250 with the underage girl, prosecutors said.
The detective went to the agreed location, an apartment building on the 500 block of Bay Street in Stapleton where the defendant lived, according to the criminal complaint. Officers found the defendant sitting inside a closet at the location, court records indicated.
The 16-year-old girl told investigators that Wright arranged for her to engage in sex acts at the location for a 60/40 split in proceeds, favoring the defendant, authorities said.
The girl had traveled to New York City to work for the defendant in the sex industry and did not claim any violence on his part, according to court documents and a source with knowledge of the case.
Following the defendant’s guilty plea Thursday, District Attorney Michael E. McMahon issued the following statement:
“Sex trafficking a minor into a life of prostitution, Isaiah Wright used a Bay Street apartment to exploit a young woman for his own financial gain. This week, this defendant was held accountable in the courtroom for his despicable conduct…
“Sex trafficking and the exploitation of vulnerable women must never become normalized in our communities, and law enforcement will continue to do everything it can to support the victims of this horrific abuse.”
McMahon went on to thank members of the NYPD for their “expert investigative work” and Special Victims Bureau Deputy Chief Amir Fadl and Assistant District Attorney Alva Prenga for their work in pursuing a conviction.
Arrested at SIUH in 2024
Wright was charged separately in a November 2024 incident at Northwell Staten Island University Hospital in Ocean Breeze.
According to a criminal complaint, he waved around a pocket knife and punched a senior in the head. It was unclear in court documents why he was at the hospital.
Wright pleaded guilty Thursday in that case to misdemeanor assault, court records show.
Prior sex trafficking charges
In May 2017, Wright was convicted in Bronx Criminal Court of attempted sex trafficking, court records show.
In that case, he was sentenced to three years incarceration and five years of post-release supervision.