4 charged with sex trafficking crimes

FOUR men were expected to appear virtually before a Port of Spain magistrate on Friday, charged with various offences including facilitating child prostitution and sexual penetration of a child.

A release from the police said Keron "Summer Boss" Pascall, of Andrews Trace, Blue Basin, Diego Martin; Shaquille ‘Pipin’ Noel, also of Blue Basin; Jose Raphael Sorzano Perez; and Kjuda James were charged after advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions, Roger Gaspard, SC.

Pascall was charged with receiving and transporting a child for the purpose of child trafficking, harbouring a child for the purpose of child trafficking, knowingly receiving a financial benefit from the offence of trafficking in persons, causing a child to prostitute, controlling a child prostitute and facilitating child prostitution.

Noel was charged with receiving and transporting a child for the purpose of child trafficking and harbouring a child for the purpose of child trafficking. Perez was charged with receiving and transporting a child for the purpose of child trafficking.

James was charged with sexual penetration of a child. The charges all fall under the Trafficking in Persons Act and the Children Act.

The release said after receiving a report of human trafficking involving a Venezuelan girl, members of the Special Investigations Unit, Counter-Trafficking Unit, the Special Investigations Task Force, Guard and Emergency Branch, Inter-Agency Task Force and the Crime Scene Investigations Unit conducted an exercise on April 13.

This led to the arrest of eight men. Four of them were released but the police said investigations are continuing.

The investigation which led to the arrest of the four was led and co-ordinated by Snr. Supt Christopher Paponette, Supt Michael Veronique, and legal officer Zaheer Ali.