Two men have been charged after allegedly sex trafficking a 13-year-old girl, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced Monday.
Kal Kirby, 43, of East Flatbush, Brooklyn and Jordan Shephard Burnham, 44, of Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, were hit with a slew of charges after they allegedly raped the teen repeatedly, promoted prostitution by arranging for her to have sex with others, and groomed and surveilled her. Kirby was arraigned in Brooklyn Supreme Court on July 20 — the day Burnham was arrested in Massachusetts. Burnham was returned to New York on July 28 and arraigned on July 31.
Kirby has been held without bail, while Burnham’s bail was set at $2 million bond or $1 million cash. The trial will continue on Aug. 24.
“This is an incredibly disturbing case in which two middle-aged men are accused of exploiting a vulnerable child for their own gratification,” Gonzalez said in a statement. “I am committed to protecting our children from sexual exploitation and will now seek to bring the defendants to justice.”
Kirby was charged with sex trafficking of a child, promoting prostitution, second and third-degree rape, endangering the welfare of a child, use of a child in a sexual performance, unlawful disclosure of an intimate image, and more. Burnham was indicted on charges of second and third-degree rape, endangering the welfare of a child, promoting a sexual performance by a child, possessing a sexual performance by a child, use of a child in a sexual performance, and aggravated patronizing a minor for prostitution in the second-degree.
There is no word from the court as of possible sentences for the men yet, but according to state law, if they are found guilty, they could be facing up to 25 years in prison.
New York State is the fourth top state on human trafficking in the U.S. as of the latest reporting by the Human Trafficking Hotline in 2019. Victims of human trafficking frequently elect not to seek help due to fear of their traffickers or of law enforcement, and stopping human trafficking often requires a third-party recognizing that a person they’ve observed may be a victim and reporting it, according to Deliver Fund, an organization that equips law enforcement with training and technology to fight human trafficking at scale.
According to the District Attorney’s investigation, the girl started communicating with Kirby on a social networking app called “Monkey” and then on Instagram in February 2022. They agreed to meet in person and Kirby sent a cab to pick her up at her school and take her to his apartment.
They allegedly played video games, ate fast food and had sex. They continued to meet on a weekly basis for several months. In September, the victim went to Kirby’s apartment where there were four or five other men waiting for her. Each of them engaged in sexual intercourse with the victim, who felt that she couldn’t refuse.
Kirby allegedly sent a photo of the victim in her underwear to Burnham on Oct. 14, and said he “had a young thing I wanted to introduce.” He then sent a naked video of the teen to Burnham and set up a meeting between them days later.
Burnham and the victim had sex on three occasions between Nov. 1 and Dec. 23, per the DA’s office. After the second time, he allegedly gave her a pair of headphones and after the third time, he gave her $200. He continued to ask her for nude photos through Instagram.
In late December, the victim told her foster mother what had been happening, and the police were notified .The investigation was led by NYPD’s Human Trafficking Squad.
