Long Island court for juvenile trafficking victims is first in NYS

Suffolk County has opened the state’s first human trafficking court focused on children who have been or are at risk of being trafficked, which officials said is a problem on Long Island.

"We're talking about the sexual exploitation of people for commercial purposes by pimps and criminals out there," Suffolk Chief Administrative Judge Andrew Crecca said. "It's a huge problem here on the Island."

He said judges have seen children as young as 11 years old being trafficked.

The new court follows Newsday reporting that revealed bureaucratic obstacles often block even state-mandated services for sex-trafficking victims, particularly children. Newsday also found that arrests and successful prosecutions of traffickers have declined, which has led to fewer victims appearing in court.

Crecca said the Newsday stories "played a significant role" in the creation of the new court because they made people aware of the specialized needs of minors.

The EAC Network, a nonprofit social services agency that counsels youths who have been or are at risk of being trafficked, saw 185 young people last year. The agency expects to see about 200 this year, said Stephanie Muller, program supervisor.

The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, which screens all inmates for human trafficking, has identified 347 adult victims of human trafficking in Suffolk since 2018. Although the jail does not have numbers for minors, research shows that the common age of entry into prostitution is 12 to 14, a jail spokeswoman said.

It's a huge problem here on the Island.

— Andrew Crecca, Suffolk chief administrative judge

Acting Supreme Court Justice Fernando Camacho, who is assigned to Family Court, is overseeing the new court in Central Islip. The children have not necessarily been arrested for prostitution. They typically are juvenile delinquents or designated as Persons in Need of Supervision, which is for people under 18 who are not attending school, exhibit out-of-control behavior or are suspected of drug abuse. Children who exhibit signs of being trafficked — such as gang affiliation, evidence of physical abuse and having an unstable living situation, among others — are routed to the new court.

Trafficking victims often fail to ask for help, especially in open court. Sometimes they fear repercussions from their trafficker, or they believe they performed sex work voluntarily, officials said.

“Sometimes they don’t disclose because they feel they will be in trouble if they disclose because they feel it was a consensual act,” Muller said. “They may not consciously see it as having been exploited or being taken advantage of.”

Children are not expected to cooperate with prosecutors in criminal cases, said Barbara Walsh, an attorney who advocated for the new court.

The court system’s website notes that advocates report a growing recognition of trauma bonding. That occurs when a trafficker uses rewards and punishments in cycles of abuse to foster a powerful emotional connection with the victim. The result may be that the victim views the trafficker as a boyfriend.

The trauma experienced by trafficking victims is complex, according to health professionals and advocates.

“If you or I were in a car accident on the Long Island Expressway, you’d be a little bit fearful to kind of start driving again. But if you got into a really terrible car accident where you had to have the Jaws of Life extract you from the vehicle and you were trapped in the vehicle for hours, that’s a different level of trauma," said Dr. Santhosh Paulus, senior program director of Northwell's human trafficking program.

“Now imagine that happening 10 to 15 times every day and night for years and you get a glimpse as to what complex trauma could be like for someone experiencing violence repeatedly.”

Post-traumatic stress disorder is the most common effect experienced by people who have been trafficked, said Feride Castillo, program development and education director for ECLI-VIBS, a nonprofit that works with trafficking victims.

They experience a range of symptoms, from flashbacks to anxiety attacks. “It’s a lifelong recovery from being trafficked,” she said.

The court started meeting about once a week late last month. In the first three weeks, the court handled 30 cases, court officials said. Because it is a court for juveniles, proceedings are not public and Newsday was not allowed to observe cases. No new employees have been hired for it.

Camacho presided over a human trafficking court for adults when he sat in Queens. For this new court, he is bringing professionals from various disciplines, including attorneys, social workers and probation officers, to assess the child’s situation, identify needs and then connect them with services. The needs may range from providing safe housing to counseling and drug treatment. Court officials also hope to start an aftercare program to continue providing support services, Crecca said.

Camacho declined to be interviewed. Judicial rules forbid judges from speaking about cases before them.

The court will offer "Family Court-involved children who are past, current or potential human trafficking victims individualized treatment-based court programs, providing critical services and resources to help steer at-risk youth away from the world of human trafficking," Al Baker, spokesman for the New York State Office of Court Administration, said in a statement.

"This court is going to look at the reasons why the child is there," Crecca said. "All problem-solving courts really focus in on what is the root cause."

Lisa Principe, of Manorville, said she is "overjoyed" about the new court. Few services were available for human trafficking victims when her daughter, Jenna Dougherty, got addicted to heroin and was forced into prostitution as a teenager in the early 2000s, she said.

Principe knew her previously quiet and obedient daughter was acting out when she was 15, but didn’t know the full extent of what she was experiencing. She was horrified when she learned her daughter was gang-raped, but knew little else because her daughter was too ashamed to tell her. She said she believes that shame led her daughter to take a fatal drug overdose on Sept. 19, 2018, at age 28.

"Addiction and the suffering she endured are what killed her," Principe said.

Since her daughter’s death, Principe has dedicated herself to advocating for addicts and trafficking victims. She said she hopes to volunteer her help in the new court.

"There are bad people out there, and they prey on the vulnerable. And that's what they did to Jenna, and I don't want anyone else to end up in my seat — without their daughter," she said.

I don't want anyone else to end up in my seat — without their daughter.

— Lisa Principe, mother of human trafficking victim

Problem-solving courts got their start in the 1990s, when the crack epidemic led to prison overcrowding in Florida. That led to the creation of a drug court, focusing on treatment and diversion programs. Officials saw the recidivism rate drop dramatically, by as much as 70%, and similar problem-solving courts were created throughout the country, Crecca said. 

"It's a paradigm shift in the way we approach criminal justice and justice overall," he said.

New York launched its first human trafficking courts for adults in 2013 in Nassau, Queens and mid-Manhattan. Today, every borough in New York City has a human trafficking court. They rely on specially trained judges, judicial monitoring and connecting victims to services, according to the state court system’s website.

"Human trafficking is a horrific crime that inflicts terrible harm on its victims, a form of modern-day slavery that we simply cannot tolerate in a civilized society," New York's former chief judge, Jonathan Lippman, said at the time. "We now recognize that the vast majority of individuals charged with prostitution offenses are commercially exploited or at the risk of exploitation."

"I think this new court is really innovative," said Jessica-Wind Abolafia, director of anti-trafficking for Sanctuary for Families, a not-for-profit that provides services to victims of gender-based violence. 

Muller, the EAC Network program supervisor, said the new court is needed because the cases are "pretty complex." On Long Island, gangs are deeply involved with sex trafficking, and young people who are being trafficked have trouble breaking away because they have no money or a place to live.

"They’re in a really vulnerable position with a lack of resources," she said.

Someone from her agency is attending every session of the new court, which meets on Thursdays, so they can offer their services to the victim in person, she said.

"I can tell you they work," Crecca said of problem-solving courts. "I've seen people's lives transformed. I've seen them go from the lowest of lows to being great, productive people in our society."