Brooklyn pimp gets up to 9 years in jail

A heartless Brooklyn pimp who beat up and drugged women he lured to New York to work as prostitutes was sentenced to up to nine years in jail, officials said.

Tariq Washington, 23, pleaded guilty to a count of sex trafficking last month, confessing he and a partner ran a call girl ring with underage teens they lured from out of state, including Philadelphia, Baltimore and Cleveland.

The defendant found the women on Backpage.com, then texted them and invited them to come to New York, sending them bus tickets and then posting their photos on the website, said Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez.

The men rented rooms at various motels in and around Brooklyn, and drove the girls to the locations where men paid to have sex with them, Gonzalez said. To keep them in line, according to court documents, the men gave the girls drugs and physically assaulted them if they refused to work as prostitutes.

“This defendant preyed on vulnerable young women, luring them to New York City to work as prostitutes, drugging and using physical violence against those who refused,” Gonzalez said.

Charges are still pending against a second suspect, Jonathan Harris, 26, of East New York, Brooklyn.

Prosecutors said the men pimped out as many as nine girls, some as young as 15.

Investigators got a lead on the ring when an 18-year-old girl, who had allegedly been beaten and raped by Harris, escaped and went to the police for help two months later.