NEW YORK — Jury selection began in New York City on Tuesday in the federal trial of two luxury real estate brokers and their brother, who are accused of sexually abusing dozens of women.
Prosecutors allege that Oren, Tal and Alon Alexander showered victims with free travel and luxury accommodations before drugging and raping them in vacation destinations such as the Hamptons.
Judge Valerie E. Caproni began jury selection by describing the case against the brothers and asking each of them to stand and face dozens of prospective jurors in the packed Manhattan courtroom. She told the jury pool that the trial, which is expected to last about a month, includes charges of sex trafficking, sexual abuse and the sexual exploitation of a minor.
Opening statements are scheduled to begin Monday.
Oren and Tal Alexander co-founded a real estate company, Official, that specialized in high-end properties in Miami, New York and Los Angeles.
Prosecutors say the brothers typically met their victims on dating apps, at social events, bars and nightclubs, and sometimes through party promoters, and that they gave them drugs such as cocaine and psychedelic mushrooms or drugged their drinks before sexually assaulting them.
Defense lawyers acknowledge that the men had sex with women but say the women were willing participants. The brothers have been held without bail since their December 2024 arrest in Miami, where they lived. All three have repeatedly pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Oren and Alon Alexander are 38-year-old twins and Tal Alexander is 39. Alon, who went to law school, was an executive at his family’s security firm.
In papers filed Saturday, defense lawyers complained that prosecutors treated their clients unfairly by rewriting the indictment to add charges the defense has not had time to investigate. That includes a charge that Oren Alexander sexually exploited an underage girl.
Prosecutors allege that in 2009, Oren Alexander persuaded or coerced an incapacitated 17-year-old girl into sexually explicit conduct that could be filmed. The defense lawyers say her birth certificate can’t be authenticated because it was issued by a former Soviet republic that is now in a war zone.
Defense lawyers urged Caproni to drop some charges from consideration, including a conspiracy count.
“The defense should not be forced to trial on a conspiracy count that was changed at the last minute,” the lawyers wrote.
Caproni has shown some sympathy for the defense protest of late changes to the indictment. On Friday, she denied the government’s request to call a certain witness at trial to support a conspiracy charge, saying the request came well after the deadline to notify the defense of evidence in the case.
Meanwhile, The New York Times reported last week that a 45-year-old Australian woman who had accused Oren and Alon Alexander of sexual assault was found dead near Sydney late last year. The newspaper said a spokesperson for the New South Wales coroner’s office said the death was deemed to be “non-suspicious.”
Sisak and Neumeister write for the Associated Press.
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