Suffolk County officials unveiled an aggressive multi-agency strategy Thursday to combat child sex trafficking and protect vulnerable kids from sexual exploitation.
County Executive Edward Romaine emphasized the urgency of the issue, calling it “one of the most critical issues facing Suffolk County today.”
“What good society turns a blind eye to missing children?” he asked. “What good society doesn’t go and try to protect its children?”
New Suffolk Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina, sworn in just yesterday to the job, provided a chilling breakdown of how traffickers typically ensnare victims.
“They find them through social media, exploiting them mentally,” he explained. “They offer drugs, fake love, sometimes clothing or things the children might not get at home. After a period of time, they turn around and say, ‘Now you have to pay me back.'”
When the victims can’t repay, Catalina said, they’re told to “work it off” – which often means being forced into sexual exploitation.
The county, ranked in the top 20 percentile nationally for human trafficking, according to officials, has been awarded state funding to develop comprehensive services targeting children as young as 7 to 11 years old who are at risk of trafficking.
Psych facility aide abused Patchogue trafficking victim
The gravity of the trafficking problem has been starkly illustrated by the ongoing case of a 14-year-old Patchogue girl who was sex trafficked during a 25-day disappearance between Dec. 9 and Jan. 3. Eight individuals have been arrested on charges — which range from rape to kidnapping to sex trafficking — related to her case.
And just this week, an aide at the psychiatric facility where she is receiving treatment was charged with sexual misconduct, further highlighting the vulnerabilities faced by trafficking victims.
Operation Safe and Lasting Return
Longtime Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon, Jr. highlighted the county’s existing efforts to combat human trafficking, noting that in 2018 they established the first human trafficking unit in any U.S. jail. That unit has since identified 354 victims and 224 traffickers, he said.
“In my 43 years in law enforcement, I have never seen such a collaborative effort dealing with this mission,” Toulon said. “And it is a mission that all of us need to look at and address.”
The new initiative, dubbed Operation Safe and Lasting Return, will coordinate efforts across multiple agencies, including law enforcement, social services and nonprofit community organizations. The approach emphasizes a “no more silos” strategy, Romaine said, ensuring comprehensive support and intervention.
Sylvia Diaz, deputy county executive for human services, emphasized the critical nature of the problem.
“Human trafficking in Suffolk County is at an epidemic proportion,” she said. “We have an obligation to build an infrastructure to support the children and the families impacted by this devastating occurrence. Just like drug trafficking, human trafficking is a business, and people are out there doing this every day and exploiting children, many of those missing from within our own community.”
The program will provide intensive therapeutic services, addressing not just the immediate safety of children but also long-term trauma and potential substance abuse issues that often accompany trafficking experiences.
Romaine noted that many families are not prepared to deal or cope with the complexities of the post-traumatic effects child trafficking has on its young victims.
“Sometimes families may be dysfunctional …, but no child, no child should go missing. No child should be trafficked. No child should be left unattended, uncared for,” Romaine said. “If we can’t protect our children, who can we protect?”
The county’s announcement
Below is the announcement of the county’s new initiative to assist young runaways and fight child sex trafficking.
Top photo: Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine on Thursday announced what he described as an aggressive multi-agency strategy to combat child sex trafficking.
