The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office announced that a total of seven people were indicted for their alleged involvement in two separate human trafficking rings in Cumberland County and Essex County in New Jersey. NBC10’s Claudia Vargas has the details on the investigation and speaks with the attorney of one of the suspects.
Seven people were indicted in connection to two separate human trafficking rings in New Jersey, officials announced Tuesday.
In one of the trafficking rings – based in Essex County – the suspects physically abused their teenage victims with an electrical cord and other methods, investigators said.
In the other trafficking ring – based in Cumberland County – each week new groups of women were brought to a brothel in Bridgeton where they engaged in sex acts with numerous men for money, according to investigators.
Human trafficking ring in Essex County
Get top local stories in Philly delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia's News Headlines newsletter.
Khailah Meekins, 21, and Donte Barkley, 28, both of Newark, New Jersey, were indicted on Dec. 2, 2024, in connection to the human trafficking of three teenagers – two 15-year-olds and a 13-year-old -- in Essex County, New Jersey, investigators said. A third suspect, 24-year-old Richard Johnson of Irvington, New Jersey, had been indicted on charges of aggravated sexual assault and other offenses in connection to the ring on Aug. 14, 2024, according to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office.
Investigators said the suspects arranged sexual encounters of the three teens through smartphone applications and online advertisements where they posted nude photos of the underage victims. The victims were brought to short-term rentals and hotels where patrons sexually assaulted them and paid the three suspects in exchange, according to officials. Barkley arranged the sexual encounters, told them which sexual acts to perform and recommended to Meekins how much to charge the customers, officials said. He also allegedly received a portion of the proceeds from the patrons.
The suspects threatened the three victims and physically abused them by pulling their hair, biting them, hitting them with an extension cord, punching and stomping them, investigators said.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
Human trafficking in Cumberland County
Usiel Luna, 42, Jose Perez-Lopez, 40, Rosendo Vazquez-Hernandez, 35, and Yerson Puentes-Marquez, 28, all from Bridgeton, were indicted in connection to the human trafficking ring in Cumberland County, New Jersey, officials said.
The four suspects are accused of distributing drugs and operating a brothel out of a home on North Laurel Street in Bridgeton. Investigators said the suspects recruited women on the false pretense that they would be working as “dancers.” Once they arrived at the home, Luna told the victims they were not allowed to leave and they witnessed violent activity on the property, according to officials.
The victims were then offered to patrons for sex in exchange for money, according to the indictment. Officials said the victims were picked up on a weekly basis from Queens, New York, and Paterson, New Jersey, and forced to have sex with hundreds of men each week.
Investigators said they also seized methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana along with over $50,000 in cash from the brothel and Luna’s home.
On Monday, Dec. 2, 2024, a grand jury indicted Luna, Perez-Lopez, Vazquez-Hernandez and Puentes-Marquez on various counts of conspiracy, human trafficking, promoting organized crime, drug possession and distribution and promoting prostitution.
Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673.
Attorney for suspect speaks out
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced the indictment and charges against the suspects in both trafficking rings during a press conference on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024.
“There is no tolerance for the exploitation of anyone, especially in this dehumanizing way,” Platkin said. “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.”
Investigators said the Bridgeton trafficking ring was in operation between March 8, 2022, and Sept. 20, 2024. John Morris, Luna's attorney, told NBC10 that based on his reading of the indictment, there were only two incidents, however.
"For it to be racketeering, there has to be at least two incidents and there are only two incidents that are alleged," Morris said. "So if one of them fails, then you don't have racketeering, do you?"
As for the alleged human trafficking, Morris said he has not seen the interviews of the alleged victims.
"There's a big difference between that and a claim of prostitution," he said.
Morris told NBC10 his client will plead not guilty.
Barkley’s defense attorney told NBC10 he would provide a statement on his client’s behalf. We will include it once we receive it.
Attorneys for Puentes-Marquez and Perez-Lopez declined to comment. NBC10 also reached out to Vazquez-Hernandez's attorney for comment. We have not yet received a response.
