Private Jet CEO Arrested In 'Operation Mile High' For Sex Trafficking Minors In NYC

The CEO of a private jet company has been arrested for sex trafficking of minors after a months-long investigation dubbed “Operation Mile High.”

Paul Alexander, 57, a level three sex offender was arrested Saturday for trafficking children throughout New York City. Alexander was the CEO of Central Jet Charter, a private aircraft charter company.

The investigation began in March after a minor reported to the New York police department about the trafficking network. The minor girl told the police that Alexander abused her and many other underage girls. He also allegedly encouraged them for prostitution.

The investigation used covert recording devices, social media and undercover operations to collect evidence against the suspect, who was found to have trafficked children across county lines for sex, according to a press release.

Alexander was arrested after he was approached by an undercover police officer posing as a sex agent. He charged him $300 for sex with two minor girls aged 12 and 14. He also encouraged the officer to use alcohol and drugs to make the victims more cooperative.

“They are from the Bronx … the poorest county,” he advised his johns. He reportedly told them that they could win over the girls if they gave them “a couple of dollars” said the prosecutors, reported NY Daily News.

One of Alexander’s neighbors in Fordham heights reported that he has seen the accused bring young girls into his apartment. “He would bring a lot of little girls here — Black, Hispanic, Chinese — he brings women of all types and walks of life, and a lot of girls,” he said.

“There is nothing more reprehensible than sexually exploiting a child,” said Attorney General Letitia James. “This individual’s alleged actions jeopardized the health and safety of our children and highlighted the critical need for these new protections that strengthen our ability to hold perpetrators accountable for these gross violations of the law. I thank the NYPD for their partnership in this investigation, and I will continue to use all the tools at my office’s disposal to hold accountable those who seek to abuse our children.”

Alexander was arrested with charges of sex trafficking of a child, attempted sex trafficking of a child, promoting prostitution, and endangering the welfare of a child. He was held without bail at a Bronx Criminal Court and faces 50 years in prison if convicted, reported ABC7.

Alexander was convicted in 2003 for charges of possessing child porn. He was arrested on charges of kidnapping and having “deviate sexual intercourse” with a 17-year-old girl in Yonkers. According to the court records, he was previously convicted in 1992 on charges of sex abuse and in 2008, on charges of bribery.

Alexander was the first to be charged on the newly enacted sex trafficking law in New York City. This law no longer requires the prosecutors to prove force, fraud, or coercion in cases of child sex trafficking.