Queens pimp had his name tattooed on women he beat and forced into prostitution: prosecutors

A Queens pimp had his name tattooed on two women he forced into prostitution so they would know they were his “property” — and punched out the teeth of one victim when she resisted having sex with a john, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Cleveland Sterling is accused of pimping the young women out in multiple hotels — and scaring one of them into obedience by showing her videos of the beatdowns he administered to the other woman.

Sterling, 34, of Uniondale. L.I., was hit with a 21-count indictment in Queens Supreme Court Monday. He faces a raft of charges including sex trafficking and robbery.

He was arraigned in Queens Supreme Court Monday, where Justice Peter Vallone Jr. ordered him released without bail until his return to court Friday. He could face up to 50 years behind bars if convicted.

Sterling met his first victim, then 19, back in 2016, and forced her into prostitution for several years, prosecutors charge.

He posted his photos of her in online ads, arranged meetings with johns at motels and made her fork over the cash she made, prosecutors say.

Once when she said she didn’t want to go through with having sex with a client, he repeatedly punched her, breaking some of her teeth, prosecutors said.

On April 9 of last year he allegedly shoved her down the stairs at the Van Wyck Hotel on Liberty Ave., injuring her ankle and breaking her phone, and on Nov. 25 he stormed into her room at the Hotel JFK on Archer Ave., hit her and ripped a chain from her neck, prosecutors say.

He had his name tattooed on her foot, telling her that she would have to cut it off if she wanted to leave since the foot belonged to him, according to prosecutors.

Sterling met the second victim, who was also 19 at the time, in August 2021 and tricked her into getting his street name tattooed on her body, prosecutors say. She thought she was getting a different tattoo.

He struck and bit her when she refused to perform sex for clients and showed her video and photos of himself beating the other woman to scare her, prosecutors said.

On Oct. 15, 2021, he allegedly punched her in the jaw at a hotel and four days later he hit her and took money from her at the LeTap Hotel on Archer Ave. in Jamaica.

“Traffickers use violence, intimidation and claims of financial debt to force victims into sex work,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “We are determined to prosecute these predators and get victims the resources they need to get their lives back.”