Danny St. Louis, of Bay Shore, Samantha Wimmer, of Central Islip, charged with sex trafficking

A Bay Shore man and a Central Islip woman were indicted on Thursday for sexually trafficking two females whom they exploited using heroin and crack cocaine to control, Suffolk County prosecutors said.

The male defendant, Danny St. Louis, 43, also faces charges for the repeated rape of a 13-year-old girl.

St. Louis was indicted in criminal court in Riverhead on 10 counts of second-degree criminal sexual act; three counts of second-degree rape; two counts each of sex trafficking and attempted sex trafficking; and one count each of first- and third-degree rape, among other charges.

His co-defendant, Samantha Wimmer, 37, was indicted Thursday in Riverhead on two counts of attempted sex trafficking; one count each of sex trafficking; and third-degree promoting prostitution and prostitution.

Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei ordered St. Louis held without bail while Wimmer was held on $500,000 cash bail or $1 million bond.

“Sex trafficking a human being is heinous and intolerable, and these are serious allegations that we look forward to proving in court,” Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney said in a statement.

Christopher Brocato, St. Louis' Central Islip-based defense attorney, said his client pleaded not guilty to every count in the indictment.

“My office has not yet been provided with any discovery concerning this case and it is difficult to comment any further,” Brocato said. “However, my client believes once this case is concluded he will be fully exonerated.”

Peter Mayer, Wimmer's Hauppauge-based defense attorney, did not respond to requests for comment.

St. Louis met the 13-year-old through a mutual acquaintance in early 2023 and provided her with cocaine, prosecutors said. He began communicating with the child regularly and started sexually abusing her, while also getting her addicted to crack, authorities said.

The abuse continued through October after the victim ran away from a residential drug treatment facility and was found by police in a hotel room with St. Louis, prosecutors said. Wimmer was staying in a separate room in the same hotel, officials said.

St. Louis was charged at the time with endangering the welfare of a child and unlawful dealing with a child, both misdemeanors that were not bail eligible in New York State.

While that case was pending and St. Louis was released, law enforcement continued to investigate the extent of the abuse of the 13-year-old.

Between March 2023 and March 2024, St. Louis advertised and sold women for sex several times to various buyers, using heroin and crack to maintain control over at least one of the victims, prosecutors said.

Wimmer photographed and advertised the victim they controlled with drugs, officials said.

St. Louis also took that victim’s identification and phone to prevent her from leaving or refusing to have sex for his profit, authorities said.

On March 3, St. Louis arranged to have a 20-year-old woman meet him at the hotel room he and Wimmer were staying in, prosecutors said. St. Louis then provided that woman with crack and refused to let her leave the room for two days, prompting her family to file a missing persons report with authorities, court records show.

On March 5, the woman fled the hotel and called her family, who notified police and recovered the victim.

Nine days later, both defendants were arrested after Wimmer agreed to provide a buyer with sex and drugs in exchange for money, authorities said.

St. Louis is due back in court May 6 and Wimmer on May 9.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.