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NJ Woman Saved From Forced Prostitution After Sending Brother Facebook Message


By

Jen Chung

Published Dec 29, 2011

Modified Dec 29, 2011


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Photograph by Juan Camilo Bernal / Shutterstock.com

 


By

Jen Chung

Published Dec 29, 2011

Modified Dec 29, 2011


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NJ authorities say that they arrested a man who forced a woman into prostitution—and they found out because the woman was able to send a Facebook message to her brother for help. The Record reports, "The victim’s smart phone did not have service to call out when she was being held, but she was able to access Facebook and contact her brother when she was in a Wi-Fi hotspot...The brother, who lives in Florida, contacted an agency in Little Egg Harbor, where his family lives."

Apparently the victim had been in a South Jersey jail "for allegedly taking a car without the owner’s permission." An inmate said her ex-boyfriend could bail her out, but when Trenace McCarroll did bail her out, he told the 30-year-old woman that she'd have to pay him back. According to the Record, "The victim told officers she was held against her will, under threat to her life, and was forced to perform several acts of prostitution throughout Bergen County for a week and a half."

After receiving the call from the victim's brother, the Little Egg Harbor authorities told Hackensack police that the woman was being held against her will. When Hackensack cops arrived at an apartment, they found the victim, plus Trenace McCarroll's girlfriend and "marijuana and pipes." McCarroll surrendered, asking that cops not arrest his girlfriend, and was hit with charges including criminal restraint and promoting prostitution.

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Jen Chung

Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

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