A father-and-son duo has been acquitted of sex trafficking charges in New York according to ABC News.
Vincent George and his son, Vincent George Jr., reportedly admitted to employing several prostitutes and acting as their pimp. The men's employees came to their defense and testified that "they were treated well." ABC reports the women insisted the men treated them as members of their family. The women were reportedly described as "wife-in-laws."
Prosecutors allegedly denounced the prostitutes testimonies at the "non-jury trial" on the grounds that they felt the women "were too traumatized to admit they've been abused."
Fox News reported "wiretapped conversations" were used in the case as evidence to support this claim. One of the recordings is of a conversation between one of the pimps and the prostitutes. He threatened to harm the woman if she did not make a worthy profit from her nightly stroll.
George Sr. and his son allegedly lived with the prostitutes in Allentown, Pennsylvania. According to the Star Tribune, the men and their employees lived a "suburban life" in the day and commuted to New York to solicit sex for money at night.
According to Fox News, the judge in the case sided with the defense team and cleared the men of sex trafficking charges but found them guilty to promoting prostitution and money laundering.
It is unclear if the men will serve any jail time. There have been no reports of the prostitutes being prosecuted for their role in the case.
"The loving relationship between pimps and prostitutes was vindicated," said David Epstein, a defense attorney. "It's a moral victory as well as a legal one."
According to ABC News, prosecutors were not pleased with the verdict and plan to appeal the decision. Prosecutors have not released an official statement.
