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Javesh Persaud, age 34, of Shirley, pleaded guilty to sex trafficking and related charges in Suffolk County Court on Friday, Oct. 25.
Prosecutors said Persaud met the 18-year-old victim in July 2023 on the now defunct website Omegle, which randomly paired strangers for virtual chats. The teen told him she was homeless and sleeping in New York City subways in Manhattan.
Persaud told the girl he helped people who were without homes and offered the teen clean clothes, a shower, food, and a place to sleep.
He picked the victim up in Manhattan that same day and drove her to a parking lot in Shirley, where he parked near a broken-down car. Persaud then told the teen to put her things in the car and informed her that she would be sleeping there with him.
Prosecutors said the victim, who had no friends or family in the area, complied.
As part of his guilty plea, Persaud admitted that the next day, he began forcing the girl to engage in sexual acts with strangers in exchange for money which he kept for himself. He promised the victim that he would continue to let her sleep in his car and would provide her with food.
When the teen refused to engage in the sexual acts and argued with the man, he slapped her across the face and threatened to stab her with a knife that he regularly carried, prosecutors said. Terrified for her safety, the victim relented.
In addition to forcing the teen into prostitution, Persaud forced the victim to engage in sex acts with him by strangling her until she complied, according to investigators.
On Sept. 1, 2023, the victim took advantage of Persaud’s absence and contacted Polaris, the National Human Trafficking Hotline, which immediately reached out to the Suffolk County Police Department. Officers recovered the teen and arrested Persaud a short time later.
In court Friday, he pleaded guilty to the following counts:
- Sex trafficking by force (felony)
- Two counts of criminal sexual act (felony)
- Three counts of sex trafficking (felony)
- Two counts of promoting prostitution (felony)
“This conviction is the result of the tremendous courage that the victim showed in escaping the clutches of this defendant’s heinous abuse by calling the Polaris hotline, and the subsequent outstanding investigative work by the human trafficking units of the Suffolk County Police Department and my office,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney.
“Suffolk County law enforcement will continue to vigorously prosecute those who seek to exploit vulnerable individuals. We will not relent.”
Persaud is expected to get 12 years in prison when he’s sentenced on Monday, Dec. 9.
If you or someone you know is the victim of sex trafficking, you can get help by contacting the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text “HELP” or “INFO” to 233733.
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