A Brooklyn pimp who pleaded guilty to the 2017 murder of his girlfriend and the sex trafficking of eight women was ordered 10 life sentences in federal prison last week.
United States District Judge Carol Bagley Amon sentenced Somorie Moses — also known as “Somorie Barfield,” “Sugar Bear,” “Bear” and “Daddy” — to 10 terms of life imprisonment to run concurrently. The sentences were handed down for each of Moses’ 10 counts of conviction for sex trafficking eight women and for committing the January 2017 murder of one of the women, Leondra Foster.
The sentencing, the first use of the federal statute criminalizing murder in the course of sex trafficking, was announced April 5 by the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Breon Peace, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York City Police Department.
Peace said Moses’ sentencing reflected the “brutality and utter depravity” of his crimes against vulnerable women and girls over a near two-decade long period.
“A lengthy prison sentence cannot undo the extreme and lasting harm Moses has inflicted on his victims, but incarceration will prevent this killer who clearly has no respect for human life from victimizing others,” said Peace. “It is my hope that today’s sentence brings some closure to the victims and their families.”
According to federal prosecutors in the case, the 48-year-old had been luring women and girls into his sex trafficking ring with false promises of love since 2003, but then used threats, violence, and psychological manipulation to force his victims into prostitution for his benefit.
The court heard that Moses kept all the money his victims earned as prostitutes in Brooklyn and Queens and that he required many of his victims to have his first name, “Somorie,” tattooed on their bodies.
At the sentencing hearing, the court heard victim impact statements from several of the defendant’s victims who accused Moses of using brutal beatings, rape, torture, and threats to coerce them into prostitution.
One victim, identified at the sentencing proceeding as Jane Doe #1, said Moses threatened to throw her off a roof and raped her, before biting off a piece of her buttocks and spitting it at her.
Another victim, identified as Jane Doe #2, said Moses slashed her arms and back with a razor and beat her with a belt before pouring lemon juice on her wounds, leaving her with extensive scarring over much of her body, including her arms, head, legs and back.
When a victim identified as Jane Doe #7 told Moses she did not want to work as a prostitute, he put a shotgun in her mouth and threatened to kill her and her child.
The murder of Leondra Foster
In January 2017, the body of 32-year-old Leondra Foster — one of Moses’ sex trafficking victims — was discovered in pieces inside a deep freezer.
The morning of Jan. 13, Moses beat Foster to death, inflicting at least five blunt force injuries to Foster’s head, either by hitting her directly or by banging her head into another surface, according to prosecutors who said the fatal blow was to the back left of her head.
The following morning, Moses used a knife and a saw to dismember her inside of their shared Brooklyn apartment.
After the killing, Moses brought another woman back to his apartment for a sexual encounter while Foster’s dismembered body was concealed in it. The woman later told law enforcement that there was a strong odor of bleach in the apartment.
Four days later, on the morning of Jan. 17, Moses brought Foster’s torso and limbs to the Bronx for disposal at a sanitation site. Her head, hands and feet — including a foot with the name “Somorie” tattooed on it — were subsequently recovered by law enforcement inside Moses’ home.
In October 2019, Moses admitted to chopping up Foster’s body (and to sex trafficking the victim) but maintained innocence in her slaying. He later pleaded guilty to all charges in September 2023.
“The defendant’s numerous offenses, including the heinous murder of Leondra Foster, were truly despicable. I thank the NYPD and FBI investigators for their dedication, and I commend everyone at the U.S. Attorney’s office for their tireless efforts to secure this meaningful prison term,” said NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban. “The sentence reaffirms the commitment of the NYPD and our law enforcement partners to protect and support all the victims and survivors of sex trafficking, one of our society’s most exploitative and dehumanizing crimes.”
