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Documented on the original SlaveryMap (2008–2016). We don’t have a verifiable source on file yet. Know one?
What happened
Eight people have been indicted on charges that include sex trafficking or promoting prostitution as a result of the investigation. The pimps sometimes started off as boyfriends or had acquaintances recruit friends and schoolmates from local high schools and middle schools, luring girls with promises of cash and “a generous lifestyle,” he added. Instead, the men used threats and violence to force the women to meet quotas of $500 a day or more, meeting clients at sex parties or through the “adult services” categories of Craigslist and other Web sites.
Response and intervention
The eight suspects were charged in four indictments referring to separate cases in northeastern Brooklyn. Some of the suspects are believed to be affiliated with the Bloods street gang. Three remain at large. Prompted by a wide-ranging investigation into the cases of about 15 girls who said they were forced into prostitution, District Attorney Charles J. Hynes of Brooklyn said that he was creating a Sex Trafficking Unit to take aim at those who sexually exploit women and girls. As investigators built the cases, the need for a more comprehensive approach to the growing problem of domestic sex trafficking became apparent, Mr. Hynes said. Gang involvement in the sex trade, and associated violence and exploitation, seemed to be a growing problem that called for more vigorous prosecution, he said. But such prosecutions also require other tools. Victims, particularly minors, are often fearful of speaking out against their pimps and need extensive counseling and other services. Meanwhile, questions linger on how teachers, parents and others could have missed warning signs. To that end, the new unit, which will use existing staff and funds, will go into schools and community centers “to raise awareness of sex trafficking and its potential signs,” like physical injuries, unexplained income, fearfulness around a dating partner and unexplained disappearances.