Investigations Found Essex County Juvenile Sex Trafficking Victims Were Beaten and Threatened, While Bridgeton Residence Served as Brothel, Drug Trafficking Hub
For Immediate Release: December 3, 2024
Office of The Attorney General
– Matthew J. Platkin, Attorney General
Division of Criminal Justice
– J. Stephen Ferketic, Director
New Jersey State Police
– Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, Superintendent
For Further Information:
Media Inquiries-
Dan Prochilo
OAGpress@njoag.gov
TRENTON — Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, the Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ), and the New Jersey State Police (NJSP) today announced that seven defendants were indicted in connection with two separate human trafficking enterprises in North and South Jersey. One human trafficking ring was based in Essex County, where a suspected female trafficker allegedly used beatings with an electrical cord and other acts of physical violence to control the teenage victims, subjecting them to sexual assaults by strangers and profiting from the abuse.
In the other case, involving a Cumberland County-based ring, the investigation found that every week new groups of women were brought to a house of prostitution in Bridgeton, where they were allegedly compelled to engage in sex acts with numerous men in exchange for money.
With the second anniversary of the establishment of DCJ’s Human Trafficking Unit approaching, Attorney General Platkin highlighted at a press conference the Unit’s vital work in combating modern-day human enslavement and recovering vulnerable victims from situations rife with abuse.
“There is no tolerance for the exploitation of anyone, especially in this dehumanizing way,” said Attorney General Platkin. “My office has made the investigation and prosecution of human trafficking a top priority. We urge members of the public to call our confidential hotline, 855-END-NJ-HT, if they are being victimized or see someone who they suspect is being subjected to this type of exploitation. We will investigate, and we will prosecute.”
“We are committed to relentlessly pursuing justice for those who have been affected by these crimes,” said J. Stephen Ferketic, Director of the Division of Criminal Justice. “Law enforcement agencies across our State are committed to doing all that we can to investigate and vigorously prosecute human traffickers.”
“The charges against these individuals mark a crucial victory in our unwavering mission to protect the most vulnerable members of our society,” said Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. “We are resolute in our commitment to collaborating with our law enforcement partners to ensure that traffickers are held accountable and that those who exploit our residents face swift and severe justice. Our foremost priority remains the safety and well-being of our communities, and we will not rest until every victim is shielded from harm and restored to safety.”
In the Bridgeton case, the state grand jury returned an indictment against Usiel Luna, 42, of Bridgeton, along with his alleged co-conspirators—Jose Perez-Lopez, 40, Rosendo Vazquez-Hernandez, 35, and Yerson Puentes-Marquez, 28—all from Bridgeton. It is alleged the defendants were involved in a criminal organization that distributed drugs and operated a brothel out of a residence on North Laurel Street in Bridgeton, New Jersey. Women were allegedly recruited on the false pretense that they would be working as “dancers,” but were then taken to a home where they were offered for commercial sex.
After being brought to the house, the victims were allegedly instructed by Luna that they were not to leave. The investigation revealed the victims witnessed violent activity on the premises. According to the indictment, new victims were allegedly picked up on a weekly basis from Queens, New York, and Paterson, New Jersey, and forced to perform commercial sex on hundreds of men during the week.
It is further alleged that law enforcement seized distribution amounts of methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana, along with over $50,000 cash from the brothel and Luna’s home.
In the Essex County case, two defendants were indicted on December 2, 2024, in connection with the alleged human trafficking of three juvenile victims. A third suspect, Richard Johnson, 24, of Irvington, New Jersey, had been indicted on August 14, 2024, on related charges including aggravated sexual assault (1st degree) after allegedly paying for one of the minors to engage in sexual activity with him.
Khailah Meekins, 21, and her alleged co-conspirator, Donte Barkley, 28, both of Newark, New Jersey, were indicted after an investigation revealed that two 15-year-old victims and one 13-year-old victim were allegedly being trafficked. The investigation revealed that sexual encounters were arranged for the victims through smartphone applications after online advertisements were posted including nude photos of the minors. The investigation found that the victims would be brought to short-term rentals and hotels where patrons compensated the defendants and in exchange sexually assaulted the minors.
It is alleged that the defendants, as a means of exercising their control over the victims, subjected the teenagers to threats and physical violence, including in some cases hair pulling, biting, being hit with an extension cord, punching, and stomping.
According to the investigation, Barkley allegedly arranged the sexual encounters for the trafficking victims, told them which sexual acts they were expected to perform, and recommended to co-defendant Meekins how much to charge the customers. It is alleged that Barkley received a portion of the proceeds Meekins earned from the sexual assaults endured by the victims.
Formed in January 2023 by Attorney General Platkin, DCJ’s Human Trafficking Unit has been charged with the mission of aggressively pursuing criminal networks that traffick individuals and exploit them for profit. The Unit achieves its mission through education, collaboration, investigations, and prosecution. The Unit’s members train and assist law enforcement in methods of identifying victims and signs of trafficking, coordinate statewide efforts in identifying and providing services to victims, and are exclusively dedicated to the interdiction and prosecution of human trafficking.
These investigations were led by the NJSP Human Trafficking Unit in partnership with the attorneys from the DCJ Human Trafficking Unit and with assistance from the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office. The prosecution is being handled by DCJ Deputy Attorneys General Lisa Queen, Amie Hyde and Jaclyn Dowd, under the supervision of Bureau Chief Laura Magnone and DCJ Deputy Director Jillian Carpenter.
Charges are merely accusations and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Defense counsel
- For Meekins: Lisa Lopata, New Jersey Office of the Public Defender
- For Barkley: Douglas Mitchell, Scotch Plains
- For Johnson: John Wojtal, West Orange
- For Luna: John P Morris, Bridgeton
- For Perez-Lopez: Robert Agre, Haddonfield
- For Vazquez-Hernandez: Christine Long, New Jersey Office of the Public Defender
- For Puentes-Marquez: Andrew Imperiale, Ventnor
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