Brentwood man charged for alleged sex trafficking of underage teen

A Brentwood man was arrested and charged Tuesday for allegedly sex trafficking an underage teenage girl for two years, the Suffolk County Police Department said.

Luis Parada, 57, allegedly raped the girl and "arranged for other local men" to pay him money in exchange for sex with her, the department said in a news release. The girl, now 17, was 15 when the alleged sex trafficking began.

Suffolk police, along with advocates with the Islandia-based survivor nonprofit ECLI-VIBES and the DASH Intensive Crisis Stabilization Center in Hauppauge "successfully recovered" the child, a police department spokesperson told Newsday via email. She was "released to family members and is continuing to receive treatment and services," the spokesperson added.

Feride Castillo and Laura Mullen, co-founders of ECLI-VIBES, took part in a Huntington forum earlier this month on human trafficking. An August panel discussion in Hicksville on the subject included law enforcement and a Newsday reporter who has covered the issue. The discussion focused on illegal sex work, human trafficking and ways the community can help put an end to both.

In the last five years, arrests for prostitution or illegal massages at salons, spas and other establishments on Long Island have skyrocketed more than 1,200%, according to a Newsday investigation of sex trafficking in the region.

Suffolk’s Human Trafficking Investigations Unit began a probe into Parada after Third Squad detectives suspected a teenager was being trafficked at a residence on MacArthur Avenue in Brentwood, the department said. After executing a search warrant at the home, detectives confiscated a replica firearm, a machete, 22 cellphones, additional electronics, forensic evidence and a 1987 Winnebago.

Parada faces charges of third-degree rape, sex trafficking of a minor and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, the release said. Parada was set to be held overnight at the Third Precinct in Bay Shore ahead of his scheduled arraignment Wednesday at First District Court in Central Islip, according to police.

Two other men in the MacArthur Avenue home at the time of the search warrant, Rigoberto Celisgarcia, 48, and Amado Campos, 59, both of Brentwood, were charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, police said. Both men were given desk appearance tickets and will be arraigned at First District Court at a future date.

The department spokesperson declined to answer whether any or all of the three men lived in the Brentwood home searched by detectives.

Detectives are still investigating Parada, Celisgarcia and Campos to determine whether there additional charges will be filed, the release said.

The department asked anyone with information on them or other possible suspects to call the Human Trafficking Investigations Unit 631-854-7512 or anonymously call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-8477.