In February 2025, two professionals in the Greater Philadelphia region were arrested for exchanging their professional services for sex with clients. Neither were charged with human trafficking. Both should have been.
On February 11, Brian Thomas Steiner, a Delaware County optician, was arrested for allegedly coercing patients into having sexual contact with him in exchange for free glasses or discounts. Steiner, 41, of Glenolden, PA, was charged with twenty-one charges, including involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, rape, sexual assault, multiple counts of indecent assault, four counts of promoting prostitution, two counts of false imprisonment, two counts of stalking, four counts of harassment, and three counts of theft by unlawful taking.
According to reports, Folcroft Police first learned of Steiner’s crimes in June 2023, when the owner of the Philly Vision Care on Delmar Drive contacted them to report that Steiner had cost the business between $2,500 and $3,500 by trading services and merchandise for sex acts.
Folcroft Borough Police allege that since June 2023, while working at Philly Vision Care in Folcroft and Collingdale, Steiner solicited sex acts from over fifteen people in exchange for free services, merchandise, and discounts. Steiner allegedly admitted to the same, saying he had performed sexual acts inside the business at least thirty times, but he could only identify seven of his victims.
Detectives report they contacted three of Steiner’s victims. One victim alleges that Steiner locked her in an examination room and told her she had “no choice” but to perform oral sex on him. According to her, Steiner persisted to harass and contact her following the assault.
Another victim alleged that Steiner offered him Christian Dior glasses, valued at $400 to $500, if he allowed Steiner to perform oral sex on him. The assault then allegedly occurred in an examination room. Like Steiner’s female victim, Steiner allegedly contacted this victim persistently after the incident.
A third victim alleged that Steiner asked to see his penis and perform oral sex on him. The victim said he refused, and when he tried to pay for his contact lenses, valued at $60, Steiner told him there was no charge.
As the investigation continued, police received notice in November that Steiner had begun working at Collingdale Vision Center. Yet another victim came forward alleging that Steiner offered oral sex in exchange for a pair of glasses. The victim reported that Steiner locked him in an examination room, stripped naked, and performed oral sex on him. The victim filed a report at the police station, bringing the pair of glasses he received from Steiner in his pocket.
Court records show Steiner was previously convicted of indecent exposure and corruption of minors in 2009 and was sentenced to a year of probation.
Bail was set at $25,000. Steiner was confined at Delaware County Prison until he posted it two days after his arrest. He waived his preliminary hearing, and is scheduled for his formal arraignment on April 30.
In a separate incident, on February 13, Fred Himmelstein, a Chester County med spa doctor, was arrested for allegedly writing opioid prescriptions to patients in exchange for sex. Himmelstein, 72, of West Chester, PA, is the owner Leading Edge Medical Spa in Downingtown. He was charged with two felony and one misdemeanor drug charges, including one for prescribing a controlled substance to someone the practitioner knows is drug dependent.
According to reports, the investigation began in January after an employee at the med spa disclosed abuse reported by a patient to police. Himmelstein purports to have initially prescribed the patient the necessary medication for a foot injury in November 2024. However, after that, Himmelstein allegedly wrote her prescriptions for opioids in exchange for sex at least two additional times, knowing her history of addiction and substance abuse.
According to the criminal complaint, Himmelstein texted the victim, stating he would continue prescribing opioids if she claimed the relationship was consensual and, “if she continued to be a ‘good girl.’”
Bail was set at $100,000 unsecured and he was released on February 13. According to an article written by the Philadelphia Inquirer on February 21, Himmelstein’s medical license as a surgeon remains active with the Pennsylvania Board of Medicine. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 4.
While the CSE Institute commends the investigative efforts of Delaware County, the Folcroft Borough Police Department, Chester County, and the West Chester Borough Police Department, we are disappointed that the prosecutions of Steiner and Himmelstein do not fully reflect the severity of their actions.
Based on the facts alleged, the conduct of both defendants satisfy the elements of first-degree felony trafficking in individuals, and we would have liked to see them charged accordingly.
Under Pennsylvania law, an individual commits sex trafficking if they recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide, obtain, advertise, maintain, patronize, or solicit another individual, knowing that individual is subject to sexual servitude. The law explicitly enumerates thirteen means of force, fraud, or coercion by which an individual can subject a victim to sexual servitude in section 3012(b). This list includes several of the more stereotypical means of trafficking, such as threatening or causing harm, physical restraint, and kidnapping. Relevant to Steiner and Himmelstein’s cases, the list also includes: “debt coercion” and “facilitating or controlling the individual’s access to a controlled substance.”
Turning to Steiner’s case, the facts alleged establish a clear pattern of behavior: Steiner allegedly offered store services, discounts, and merchandise in exchange for sex acts. If this is true, this pattern is categorized as commercial sex under Pennsylvania law. The law defines a commercial sex act as, “a sex act for which anything of value is given to or received by a person.” Plainly, glasses, contact lenses, and other discounted and free services or merchandise are things of value. Additionally, while several victims reported being locked in an examination room, one reported Steiner told her she had “no choice” but to perform a sex act. If the facts alleged are true, Steiner’s conduct satisfies several of the acts laid out in the statute for trafficking in individuals, including soliciting, enticing, patronizing, providing, and obtaining.
Because these acts were performed by means of force, fraud, and coercion, Steiner’s pattern of conduct constitutes sex trafficking under Pennsylvania law. Looking to 3012(b)(11), the law explicitly sees debt coercion as a means of subjecting an individual to sexual servitude. Debt coercion is defined under Pennsylvania law as “exploitation of the status or condition of a debtor” in several ways, including if “the debtor is coerced to perform sex acts as payment for the debt.”
If the facts alleged are true, Steiner repeatedly enticed and coerced patrons of Philly Vision Care to perform sex acts in exchange for services or merchandise. Steiner accepted the sex acts as payment for the victims’ goods and services, costing the business between $2,500 and $3,500. By taking the sex acts as payment for the victims’ debts, Steiner employed debt coercion as a means of compelling the victims to participate in various commercial sex acts, satisfying the elements of trafficking in individuals under Pennsylvania law.
The CSE Institute urges law enforcement and prosecutors to see this pattern for what it is: sex trafficking. While the other charges Steiner faces are appropriate in light of the facts alleged, by not charging trafficking in individuals, the prosecution misses an opportunity to prosecute Steiner in a way that fully reflects the severity of his actions.
Additionally, the CSE Institute urges prosecutors to be diligent and accurate in charging defendants with prostitution. Steiner’s docket reflects multiple counts of 5902(a) with the description promoting prostitution. While promoting prostitution, 5902(b), may be an appropriate charge for Steiner, he was charged with 5902(a), prostitution, which is not an appropriate offense the alleged acts described above. We urge law enforcement to remain vigilant and diligent in charging and prosecuting defendants by charging the appropriate offenses and subsections.
Turning to Himmelstein’s case, the facts alleged show that he exploited a patient’s addiction to manipulate her into engaging in sex acts with him in exchange for opioids. Because opioids are a thing of value, exchanging them for sex acts with the victim is considered commercial sex under the law.
Looking to 3012(b)(12), “facilitating or controlling the individual’s access to a controlled substance” is explicitly listed as a means of subjecting someone to sexual servitude. If the facts alleged are true, this is exactly what Himmelstein did by exchanging commercial sex with a vulnerable patient for access to her drug of choice.
Exploiting a person’s addiction to manipulate them into commercial sex is a deeply reprehensible form of coercion. This method of control should be recognized by the courts as a clear instance of trafficking, as it preys on an individual’s vulnerabilities and perpetuates their victimization.
If the facts alleged are true, Himmelstein’s conduct satisfies several of the acts laid out in the statute for trafficking in individuals, including soliciting, patronizing, enticing, providing, maintaining, and obtaining. Because these acts were perpetrated squarely within one of the means of subjecting someone to sexual servitude under 3012(b)(12), Himmelstein’s conduct, if proven, satisfies the elements of elements of trafficking in individuals under Pennsylvania law.
We encourage the government to see patterns like these for what they really are: sex trafficking. We urge law enforcement and prosecutors statewide to utilize the trafficking in individuals statute when appropriate. By appropriately charging and prosecuting defendants who have trafficked victims, the government has the opportunity to protect the community from dangerous individuals who see human beings as things to be bought and sold for sex and bring justice to vulnerable individuals who were exploited and victimized by the defendants.
Lastly, and most importantly, the CSE Institute applauds the incredible bravery of the victims and survivors who came forward in these cases. After all, it is irrefutable that survivor voices will be the force of change in bringing justice to victims and survivors and eradicating the sex trade once and for all.
The CSE Institute will continue to provide updates as they become available.
All views expressed herein are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.