‘Everybody wants her home’: Friends plead for teen girl’s return, authorities think she’s involved in sex trafficking

Friends and family of a teen last seen in New York City in Sept. are holding out hope that she’ll soon return home, while authorities believe that she’s possibly involved in a sex trafficking ring and getting tossed around to different “pimps.”

People reports that Corinna Slusser, 19, disappeared from the Haven Motel in Rego Park, Queens on Sept. 20. Slusser, a supposed Pennsylvania college student, filed a restraining order in August on a 32-year-old man who allegedly assaulted her. A few weeks later, all contact with her friends and family stopped.

Little is known about the man who allegedly assaulted her, and according to Corinna’s friend, Kayleigh LeVan, the teen’s close friends and family aren’t even clear on where she lived. She said she moved to Pennsylvania in the late summer, reportedly to attend Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Yet, another friend, Harleigh Welsh, said Slusser attended cosmetology school and wasn’t attending the Pennsylvania college.

It’s also unclear how Slusser ended up in NYC, at least according to her friends. They said she started sharing pictures of her life in New York on social media and invited friends there, though her friends have no explanation as to why she was there to begin with.

“She was so excited about New York,” LeVan says. “She was excited about having her own place.”

Yet, her family told FOX6 that Slusser moved to New York after meeting her “pimp.” The alleged pimp, who Slusser referred to as her “daddy,” could possibly be the man she obtained a restraining order against. Slusser kept in touch with her family until Sept., when all communication stopped.

“This letter of protection was granted against somebody she was living with. It went to her mom’s house,” a relative who asked not to be named told New York Daily News. “We didn’t know what to think…..The letter said she was beaten and strangled, but (Corinna) told her mom that she was making a big deal out of nothing.”

NYPD’s Vice Human Trafficking Team said that the teen could be anywhere, as she is likely being passed around by pimps involved in sex trafficking. Authorities haven’t revealed the name of the man she took a restraining order out on, but they indicated Slusser was found shaking and crying after he choked her and “slammed her against the wall, making it difficult for (her) to breathe.” He was arrested and later released on a $1,000 bond.

“She’s so sweet and so naive. She didn’t know what she was getting herself into,” a relative told FOX6. “She just needs to know that everybody wants her home. I can’t imagine what she’s gone through or what she’s going through. I just want her to have an out.”

Anyone with any information on Slusser’s whereabouts should contact NYPD  Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) For the Spanish tip line, call 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).

[Feature Photo: NYPD]