Faith Slayton and Michael Steinmetz are Arrested:
According to the sheriff’s office, two girls who vanished from a foster home in Palm Beach County earlier this month were the targets of a human trafficking ring in the region.
After a law enforcement officer saw one of the girls leaving a residence with a possible human trafficker, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office (PBSO) deputies came to their aid on Wednesday.
Faith Slayton and Michael Steinmetz have been taken into custody about the purported trafficking. Both are accused of many cases of minor human trafficking. In addition, Steinmetz is charged with sexually abusing a kid, and Slayton is charged with two charges of interfering with a minor’s custody.
The Palm Beach County judge referred to the case as one of the worst he had ever seen at their initial appearance on Thursday morning. He then refused to provide them bail.
An arrest document states that the girl and another person entered a black BMW following a monetary transaction and were stopped close to the intersection of I-95 and 6th Avenue South. Authorities were able to apprehend the child thanks to an order from the Department of Children and Family Services, and they quickly discovered that the other victim was being held captive in a house.
Pastor, artist, and campaigner Lynne Barletta of the Treasure Coast claims this is only one win in a much bigger battle. “There are amazing foster parents that look after the kids. Then there is the second group of individuals who take in kids but do so just as a means of support; as a result, the kids frequently get lost in the system, according to Barletta.
Traffickers feed off of those gaps. Foster children are a frequent target for human traffickers, according to Barletta, who uses false optimism, money, and drug promises as bait. These helpless kids are suffering the price for this risky game. A little over 60% of victims of child sex trafficking are currently or have previously been in foster care, as per the National Foster Youth Institute.
To raise awareness in the battle against child trafficking, Barletta created the Florida Faith Alliance and set out to educate churches, schools, and companies.
Since a kid can be used thirty to forty times daily, hundreds of people might participate with only one or two females. Drugs are only meant to be used once, and they are used to control people, according to Barletta. Both females informed investigators that they had received marijuana, Flakka, and Molly in exchange for having sex, at least in one instance. Allegedly, one of the victims stumbled over internet advertisements for prostitution that advertised “Two Girl Specials.”
Because most recruiting occurs online these days, any youngster is in danger. If you are a parent and your child has access to social media. That implies that social media can reach them, according to Barletta. “This is the most horrific thing that is currently happening in our world.”
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office observed in a heavily redacted section of the affidavits for each suspect that a guy already in jail blurted out, “I only paid $20,” before being informed of his Miranda rights. At that point, he requested legal representation.
