The Alexander brothers’ trial on federal sex trafficking charges has been delayed.
Judge Valerie E. Caproni in a Friday hearing said Tal, Oren and Alon’s trial in the Southern District of New York will begin Jan. 26, three weeks later than previously scheduled.
The former top brokers Oren and Tal and their brother Alon have been in federal custody since their arrests in December 2024 before prosecutors charged them with participating in a conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, including working together to “repeatedly and violently drug, sexually assault, and rape dozens of female victims” between 2008 and 2021.
The alleged scheme involved the brothers and other unnamed perpetrators arranging travel for women to luxury destinations, where they were ultimately attacked by one or more of the brothers. The brothers have denied the allegations and are pleading not guilty.
Prosecutors revealed their latest indictment in November, bringing the total number of charges against the brothers to 11. At the time, they added a sexual exploitation of a minor charge against Oren over him recording himself engaging in sexual activity with a 17-year-old girl in Manhattan in 2009.
Attorneys for the Alexanders argued that the additional charge should be tried separately at a later date, but pushed back against Caproni’s suggestion in a November hearing that unresolved issues would mean the trial could be postponed to May.
Recently submitted court filings are shedding light on how attorneys plan to try the case.
In a pre-trial motion filed in November, prosecutors cited group chats where the Alexanders and other men traded graphic photos and videos of women, discussed “hunts” and “kills” as they outlined the logistics for women to join them on trips, like one to Tulum. Prosecutors say in one message, Oren talks about trying “ludes” — shorthand for quaaludes, a drug prosecutors say the brothers had on hand — along with Xanax, MDMA and GHB, to incapacitate women.
One of Oren’s attorneys, Marc Agnifilo, said during the Friday hearing that a significant part of the defense’s argument at trial will focus on the allegations that the Alexanders drugged women.
“Our defense is going to be, ‘We never drugged anyone, not once not ever, and the government has no evidence that we did,’” Agnifilo said.
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The Alexanders prepare to go to trial
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Prosecutors add minor exploitation charge to Alexander bros sex trafficking case