Donald Baines (pictured), a violent pimp who operated a sex trade business involving women, was sentenced Monday to 62 and a half years behind bars by a judge who said his activities were “akin to slavery,” according to the Daily Mail.
Baines argued during his trial at Manhattan Supreme Court that his treatment of the stable of women could not have been that vile because they always returned to him. Judge Patricia Nunez, however, had some choice words for the pimp’s warped rationale. “You picked these damaged women,” he said. “You gave them food, housing. They performed prostitutional activities for you. You never gave them a penny … To me this is akin to slavery.”
The judge’s words fell on deaf ears and Baines’ retort proves he sees no wrong in his actions.
The 39-year-old purveyor of violence could not fathom how he could be accused of the mistreatment of the women. “I’m going to assert my innocence till the day I die. The court may not like me. I don’t like. But I didn’t do those things,” said the man who was convicted last October of rape, promoting prostitution, sex abuse and unlawful imprisonment.
Baines allegedly tortured at least four women, forcing them to be prostitutes since 2009. He maintained his operation out of his New York City Upper East Side apartment. Allegedly, he subjected the women to physical and psychological abuse. Baines is also accused of threatening their families.
One women testified that she was held against her will by Baines. She met the defendant through an online advertisement for models. When the woman discovered that the “modeling gigs” were actually prostitution-related jobs, she thought she would work for Baines for a 6-day stint. The woman was not allowed to leave. Baines forced her to stay as he did with all of his harem and kept them in line by beating them with rubber mallets.
According to the Daily Mail, district attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr., wrote in a statement regarding the Baines case, “As proven at trial, he even went so far as to beat his victims for the slightest infraction of his rules. This sentence reflects the gravity of the defendant’s actions in using women’s bodies for personal profit.”
Baines will be eligible for release from prison fifty years from now, at the age of 89.
