Danny St. Louis, 43, of Bay Shore faces additional sex trafficking charges

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced Monday that additional charges have been filed against a Bay Shore man who pleaded not guilty in April to sex trafficking and rape.

Danny St. Louis, 43, was charged with three counts of sex trafficking, alleged commercial sexual exploitation of another female victim, plus possession of both drugs and child pornography, among other charges, a news release said.

The new charges filed last Thursday came five months after Newsday reported that St. Louis had been charged with 28 felonies and misdemeanors in connection with the alleged sex trafficking of two female victims.

“These new charges come from a brave victim who came forward after our initial announcement,” Tierney said in a statement Monday. He added that sex trafficking is a “disgraceful modern-day slave trade” and urged victims or witnesses to “please come forward.”

Tierney’s office said the latest victim of the alleged sex trafficking ring in St. Louis alerted Suffolk County police that the Bay Shore man had sexually exploited her from January 2024 through February 2024. Authorities said she was required to perform sex acts with buyers in exchange for money. She was then required to give the money to St. Louis, who allegedly gave her small amounts of drugs, including crack cocaine and fentanyl, “intended to keep her addicted and working,” according to the district attorney’s statement.

On July 15, 2023, St. Louis was arrested for not wearing a seat belt and for possession of cocaine, authorities said. Police found four cellphones in St. Louis and subsequently launched a human trafficking investigation. During a search of the phones, investigators found three videos of a victim, then 13, performing sex acts, the district attorney’s office said.

On Thursday, St. Louis pleaded not guilty before Chief Justice Timothy P. Mazzei to three counts of sex trafficking; three counts of possessing a sexual performance of a child; one count of promoting prostitution in the fourth degree; one count of criminal possession of a narcotic drug in the fifth degree; and one count of failure to wear a seat belt, court records show.

Newsday previously reported that prosecutors said St. Louis sold women for sex to different buyers on multiple occasions between March 2023 and March 2024, using heroin and crack cocaine to maintain control over at least one victim. Authorities also previously alleged that St. Louis repeatedly raped a 13-year-old girl, who he also allegedly became addicted to crack cocaine.

On April 11, St. Louis was arraigned in Riverhead Criminal Court on 10 counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct; three counts of second-degree rape; two counts of sex trafficking and attempted sex trafficking; and one count each of first- and third-degree rape, among other charges. Mazzei ordered St. Louis held without bail.

A co-defendant, Samantha Wimmer, 37, of Central Islip, who authorities say photographed and advertised the victim they controlled with drugs, was also indicted April 11 on two counts of attempted sex trafficking; one count of sex trafficking, third-degree promoting prostitution and prostitution. She was being held on $500,000 cash bail or $1 million surety.

St. Louis is due back in court on Oct. 17 and faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted of the top charge, the district attorney’s office said. Wimmer’s case is adjourned Tuesday, court records said.