New Jersey authorities have successfully taken down two human trafficking rings, including one that involved children as young as 13 being forced into sexual encounters with adults for money. Attorney General Matt Platkin announced that seven people have been charged in connection with the operations in Essex County and Cumberland County. The indictments reveal harrowing details of children and others being exploited in a dehumanizing manner.
Khailah Meekins, 21, and Donte Barkley, 28, both from Newark, are accused of trafficking minors, arranging for two 15-year-olds and a 13-year-old to have sexual encounters with adults through a smartphone app. In Cumberland County, Usiel Luna, Jose Perez-Lopez, Rosendo Vazquez-Hernandez, and Yerson Puentes-Marquez, all from Bridgeton, were involved in recruiting people to work as dancers who were then forced into commercial sex work.
These indictments come after the establishment of a human trafficking unit in the attorney general’s office two years ago. Authorities are cracking down on these heinous crimes and working to bring justice to the victims.
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