Greater Long Island coverage is funded in part by Toresco & Simonelli, a boutique injury and family law firm in West Islip. They fight for their clients. Click here to get in touch.
An international sex trafficking ring with ties to multiple countries operated in Suffolk County for several years, Suffolk County Police said Wednesday while announcing the arrest of a Bronx man.
Police said Erick Acevedo, 36, was arrested just after 10:30 a.m. Wednesday on Cedar Avenue in the Bronx.
The investigation that led to Acevedo’s arrest dates back nearly four years ago — to March 2022, when officers assigned to the Second Precinct Investigative Unit conducted surveillance at the Roadway Inn in Huntington Station.
During that surveillance, officers observed women they believed were victims of human trafficking.
Police said Acevedo brought women to hotels and collected money from sex workers as part of the operation. Investigators, who continue to investigate, said the trafficking ring had ties to the Dominican Republic, Brazil, New York, Florida and possibly other states.
Acevedo was charged with third-degree promoting prostitution and fifth-degree conspiracy. Police said he was issued a desk appearance ticket and is scheduled to be arraigned at Suffolk’s First District Court in Central Islip at a later date.
The investigation was led by Suffolk Police’s Human Trafficking Investigations Unit, with assistance from the Second Precinct Investigative Unit, Suffolk Police’s Warrant Enforcement Section, the NYPD, FBI and Nassau County District Attorney investigators.
Detectives are asking anyone who may have been a victim of this human trafficking ring or who has information about the case to contact the Suffolk County Police Human Trafficking Unit at 631.854.7512 or Crime Stoppers at 1.800.220.TIPS.
Top: Erick Acevedos (SCPD)
