Coram man convicted of trying to kidnap two women, pleads guilty to having illegal gun

A Long Island man already convicted of attempting to kidnap and force women into sex trafficking — two victims who jumped from moving cars to escape him — has pleaded guilty to possessing a Glock 23 handgun, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. 

Andrew Frey, 57, of Coram, pleaded guilty Tuesday to being a felon in possession of a firearm and obstruction of justice following his conviction last week on charges of attempted sex trafficking and attempted kidnapping of two victims. 

“The victims in this case jumped from a moving vehicle rather than risk the fate Frey had waiting for them," said Michael J. Driscoll, the assistant director in charge of the FBI's New York field office. "Based on the weapons investigators discovered, Frey's intent was dangerous, if not deadly. These women should be commended for their bravery, which we hope will serve as motivation for any other women being victimized by sexual predators to call us." 

Frey faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and up to life imprisonment at sentencing. His defense attorney could not be reached for comment. 

“Frey targeted and used violence against vulnerable members of our society seeking to exploit them for his own sexual gratification,” Eastern District U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement. “Fortunately, the young women whom the defendant sought to victimize were able to escape.”

Federal prosecutors said Frey was convicted of attempting to traffic and kidnap two women in Suffolk County.

In October 2018, Frey lured a sex worker who was addicted to heroin into his car in Mastic, prosecutors said. Frey grabbed the woman by her neck, locked the doors and drove erratically after the victim refused to go with Frey to a secluded beach area, prosecutors said. She jumped from his moving vehicle and sustained back injuries as a result. 

Frey, armed with a knife, later found the woman sleeping inside her friend's parked car and tried to get her out of the car, but the friend drove away, prosecutors said. Frey followed the car in his own car, but she escaped again. 

In a second incident, Frey attempted to take another woman to a wooded area in Coram in July 2019, and when she refused, he screamed that he "owned" her and grabbed her arm to prevent her from fleeing, prosecutors said. 

She, too, jumped from his moving car, sustaining knee injuries. 

Frey was arrested in November 2019, when a law enforcement search of his car found multiple sets of handcuffs, as well as knives, rope and other restraint tools, prosecutors said. The illegal Glock 23 gun was recovered from his home. 

Frey had also installed a device in his vehicle that concealed his car's license plate by pushing a button, prosecutors said. 

Frey had pressured his son to get a pistol permit because Frey was a convicted felon and not legally allowed to possess a firearm, prosecutors said. 

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.