A Long Island father has described how he rescued a teenage girl from a boat who had been missing for a month, only to discover that she had been sex trafficked and “did something a 14-year-old girl shouldn't do.” He said he believed he was forced to do so.
Frank Gervasi's daughter Emmarae disappeared on the night of Dec. 9 after getting into an unknown car outside her home in Patchogue, leaving her family fearing someone had abducted her. He said he felt it.
Her father and Suffolk County police later announced Friday that she was found on a boat in Islip. And in a Facebook video on Sunday, Gervasi detailed what she thinks happened to her.
“Emma was being held against her will,” said her bearded, tattooed father, adding, “I read a lot of stupid comments” claiming the teen could have left on her own. he added.
“She was not allowed to leave the boat unless accompanied by someone and was forced to do things that a 14-year-old girl should not do,” he continued.
“So I believe this is sex trafficking and we are currently investigating.”
He said the girl was recovering well after a month-long nightmare. The nightmare ended only after a woman called and received an anonymous tip that finally led him to the boat.
“The phone call I received said she was on Islip's boat,” he said, adding that he was skeptical at first. “The woman who tipped me was afraid to go on the boat.”
But the desperate father said there was no such fear and on Friday he stormed Emma's prison ship, which was moored at a marina near the Whitecap Fish Market, to rescue her.
Gervasi said no one else was on board at the time. He believed she may have been held by “some dangerous people” and added that there was a lookout boat nearby to keep an eye on her.
“She is currently in a facility, receiving the assistance she needs and is safe,” Gervasi said in a social media video on Saturday. “We would like to thank the community for all the support they have given us.”
Emarae was last seen leaving her home and getting into her car, putting on a jacket or shoes. According to Greater Long Island.
The next day, she was seen on security camera knocking on a door at a motel in Bohemia, but she disappeared again.
Gervasi said her daughter initially dated a man she met online, but they broke up and was later picked up by a “random” 65-year-old man she didn't know.
Last month, Gervasi said he appealed for help on social media and drove all over Long Island looking for clues on his own in what at times felt like a futile search.
“I was losing hope,” he said at one point. “When I woke up yesterday, I wanted to give up. I wanted to die. I just didn't know where my little girl was.”
Gervasi said she now wants to help other New York families whose children may have disappeared in the same way.
“My nightmare is over. But other parents' nightmare still exists and their children are still missing,” he said Sunday. “This is a terrible feeling and we will continue to be proactive in finding ways to help other families.
“Human trafficking is a huge problem around the world,” he continued. “This is a huge issue for Long Island, and we stress that parents need to keep an eye on their children.
“They are predators and will stop at nothing to get their hands on your children.”
