New York teen found on boat a month after disappearance was ‘sex trafficking,’ father says

The New York teenager whose mysterious month-long disappearance and happy reunification with her family made headlines last week may have been the victim of sex trafficking after being arrested by a man she she met online, her father said.

Emmarae GervasiA 14-year-old girl from the village of Patchogue on Long Island was not seen or heard from by her father, Frank Gervasi, after leaving their home, barefoot and without a jacket, on the evening of December 9, Breitbart News reported.

She allegedly left her home and got into a black car, then was last seen on security cameras knocking on the doors of a premises. motelaccording to Greater Long Island.

After about four weeks of desperate searching and offer a $15,000 reward for his return, Frank miraculously find the teenager on a boat docked at a marina in nearby Islip after receiving a “crucial tip,” according to the New York Post and information shared by Frank on Facebook:

The nature of her disappearance and why she was on the boat was unclear, although Frank admitted his daughter was a “troubled teenager” in a video posted on Christmas Eve, before finally being found on January 3.

Frank has since said that Emmarae was “held against her will” and “forced” to do inappropriate things on the boat in a video posted on Sunday:

“Emma was being held against her will,” the father said, objecting to comments on social media suggesting the teen had simply run away from home.

“She was not allowed to leave the boat unless she was escorted by someone, and she was forced to do things that a 14-year-old girl should not have to do,” he said. he continued, before explaining how she was first selected. by a man she met online, but later ended up with a “random” 65-year-old man she didn’t know.

“So I believe this is sex trafficking, and it’s under investigation,” he said.

Frank added that Emmarae “is currently in a facility receiving the help she needs and is safe.”

According to the father, the information he received regarding his daughter’s presence on a boat came from a woman who “was afraid to get on the boat.” So he went to the marina near the White Cap fish market and boarded the boat himself, finding the teenager alone.

He added that he thought “dangerous people” were keeping her there and that they may have had a lookout nearby to watch over her.

Shortly after the father posted the video revealing his belief that Emmarae was a victim of sex trafficking, Suffolk County police said they made an arrest, but gave no details, according to the New York Post.