Opening statements set in sex trafficking trial of 2 real estate agents and their brother

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York jury will hear a prosecutor on Tuesday deliver an opening statement describing evidence to support sex trafficking charges alleging that two sibling real estate agents who catered to the jet-set crowd and a third brother sexually attacked dozens of women over a 12-year stretch.

Defense lawyers were expected to counter by telling Manhattan federal court jurors that Tal, Oren and Alon Alexander had active sex lives but only engaged in consensual sex with women from 2008 to 2021.

The openings were expected to last less than two hours before the presentation of evidence begins in what's expected to be a monthlong trial.

An indictment alleges that the men conspired to entice women to join them at vacation destinations such as New York's Hamptons by providing flights and luxury hotel rooms and inviting them to entertainment events and parties before sexually abusing them and sometimes raping them.

The brothers have pleaded not guilty and their lawyers say prosecutors are unjustly criminalizing consensual sex.

According to the indictment, the men violently sexually assaulted and raped dozens of women after luring them to various destinations with promises of luxury experiences, travel, and accommodations.

It said that often, the brothers “drugged their victims before assaulting them, preventing them from fighting back or escaping.”

In court paper, defense lawyers have said that among witnesses they had identified, they’d been able to locate evidence “that undermines nearly every aspect of the alleged victims’ narratives.”

Oren and Tal Alexander were real estate dealers who specialized in high-end properties in Miami, New York and Los Angeles. Their brother, Alon, graduated from New York Law School before running the family's private security firm. Tal is 39 years old while Alon and Oren, who are twins, are 38.

The brothers have been held without bail since their December 2024 arrest in Miami, where they lived.