NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – A Long Island man pleaded guilty to luring an 18-year-old woman to Suffolk county and forcing her to engage in sexual acts in exchange for money to “repay” him, prosecutors announced on Tuesday.
Javesh Persaud, 34, of Shirley, pleaded guilty to sex trafficking and other related charges for luring a woman experiencing homelessness by promising her shelter and then forcing her to engage in sexual acts with others in exchange for money, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said.
According to court documents, in July 2023, Persaud met the survivor on Omegle, an online chat platform that randomly paired strangers online for virtual chats and video. When the victim met Persaud, she was sleeping in New York City subways in Manhattan. Persaud told her that he helped people who were without homes and offered the victim clean clothes, a shower, food, and a place to sleep, prosecutors said.
He picked the victim up in Manhattan and drove her to a parking lot in Shirley, where he parked next to a broken-down car. Persaud told the survivor to put her things in the car and told her that she would be sleeping there with him. The survivor, who had no friends, family or contacts did as she was told.
The next day, Persaud allegedly began to force the victim to engage in sexual acts with strangers in exchange for money which he kept for himself. In exchange, he promised to permit her to sleep in the car and provide her with food. At one point, the survive refused to engage in the sexual acts and tried to argue with Persaud.
He then allegedly slapped her in the face and threatened to stab her with a knife that he always carried with him.
“Terrified,” the survivor continued to engage in sex acts, according to court documents. Persaud also forced the survivor to engage in sex acts with him by strangling her until she complied.
On Sept. 1, 2023, while Persaud was not around, she was able to contact Polaris, the National Human Trafficking hotline, to ask for help.
Polaris immediately reached out to the Suffolk County Police Department and officers were dispatched to save her.
“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,” Tierney said.
On Oct. 25, Persaud pleaded guilty to sex trafficking, criminal sexual act and promoting prostitution. He is due back in court on Dec. 9, and expected to be sentenced to 12 years in prison followed by 20 years of post-release supervision.