Florida Pair Targeted Girls under Foster Care for Human Trafficking; Molested and Drugged Them into Prostitution: Palm Beach Sheriif’s Office
According to the sheriff’s office, a human trafficking ring in the area was responsible for the disappearance of two foster girls from Palm Beach County earlier this month.
After a law enforcement officer saw one of the girls leaving a residence with a person who was suspected of being involved in human trafficking, deputies from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office (PBSO) came to their rescue on Wednesday.
The alleged trafficking has led to the arrest of two individuals, Michael Steinmetz and Faith Slayton. Allegations of minor human trafficking have been leveled against both. Along with sexual battery of a minor, Steinmetz faces two charges of that charge, and Slayton faces two counts of interfering with the custody of a minor.
The judge from Palm Beach County said it was one of the worst cases he had ever seen during their initial appearance on Thursday morning. After that, he took away their bond.
An arrest document states that the teenager and another person were apprehended near the intersection of I-95 and 6th Avenue South in a black BMW after a financial transaction. After authorities found that the other victim was being hidden at a residence, they were able to take the girl into custody pursuant to an order from the Department of Children and Family Services.
Lynne Barletta, a preacher, artist, and activist from the Treasure Coast, argues that this is but a little triumph in a far more significant struggle.
“There are wonderful foster care parents caring for children. And then you have the other segment of people who are taking in children, but they’re using it as a paycheck, and so those children often fall through the cracks,” Barletta said.
“Those cracks are where traffickers thrive,” she added.
According to Barletta, human traffickers use false hope, drugs, and financial incentives to entice foster children. These defenseless kids are paying the price for playing this risky game.
About 60% of victims of child sex trafficking are currently or were foster youths at some point in their lives, according to the National Foster Youth Institute.
Barletta established the Florida Faith Alliance to raise awareness about the issue of child trafficking through educating churches, schools, and companies.
“With one girl or two girls, there could be hundreds of users involved, because you can use a child thirty to forty times a day. You can only use a drug once, and they use drugs to control them,” Barletta said.
According to the girls’ statements to authorities, they were offered marijuana, Flakka, and Molly, and in one instance, they were even paid for having sexual relations.
Allegedly, one of the victims stumbled across “Two Girl Specials” ads for prostitution on the internet.
“Every child is at risk now, because most of the recruitment is now online. When you are you’ve got a child that has access to social media. That means social media has access to them,” Barletta said. “It is the most horrifying thing that is going on in our world now.”
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office reported in a heavily redacted section of the suspect affidavits that one of the detained men yelled out “I only paid $20” before being informed of his Miranda rights; he then requested legal representation.
