Sex traffickers in Brooklyn are targeting Caribbean teenage girls, many as young as 13 years to lure them into prostitution.

But Caribbean immigrant teenagers aren't alone. Young women from Russia, Germany, China and Latin America are also on the radar screen of criminal youth gangs, including the Crips, Bloods and Latin Kings, who beat, threaten or otherwise force them into becoming prostitutes.

That alarm was raised by Charles Hynes, Brooklyn's District Attorney and top prosecutor who has created the Brooklyn Sex Trafficking Unit, BKSTU, to investigate cases and bring perpetrators to court. He has also launched a public information campaign to heighten awareness about what he calls a "barbaric" crime. He told the Carib News that Caribbean girls, many between the ages of 13 and 15, were being trafficked for sex as young prostitutes.

"It's hundreds of kids and every one of these kids is being trafficked," Hynes said. "People misunderstand trafficking. When you say trafficking they picture someone being spirited across the Canadian or Mexican border.

"But these victims are living here in the United States. They came here with their families and then they are trafficked for sex. The data suggests 100,000 American children are involved in sex trafficking every year across the country. How many are in Brooklyn? I don't know. Young girls from all of the countries in the Caribbean are at risk as well as all of the Latin countries. Young girls from Europe, China and other places are also at risk."

Asked if teenage girls from any specific Caribbean states were special targets, the DA said that he didn't have any exact numbers for the islands but emphasized that "all are at risk."

Hynes explained that the profile of a victim was a teenage girl who had "moved" to the City with her parents from the Caribbean, Europe, Asia and Latin America, probably as an undocumented immigrant, and would have been approached by a gang member.

She was then enticed by the young man who pretended to be interested in a relationship as a "boyfriend" but then forces her into prostitution.

"It's a horrible problem all over the world and that's a reason why these kids from the Caribbean and elsewhere are being targeted when they come to the States," said Hynes.

Using flyers, posters, public service announcements on radio and a 24-hour hotline (718-250-2779) the DA is reaching out to West Indians and other immigrant communities across Brooklyn, to alert parents, children and other adults to be on the lookout for tell-tale signs of involvement in prostitution, such as unexplained disappearances from home; poor performance in school; tattoos on the body; indications of physical abuse; new friends, especially new dating relationships; and jewelry and other expensive gifts.

"Definitely kids from the Caribbean, especially undocumented immigrants, are being targeted," Hynes said. "A problem is that the girls don't want to disclose any information about what's going on."

A reason for the silence about their "pimps" was the girls' immigration status while another, said Hynes, was the nature of their activities, meaning they didn't want their parents and friends to know what they were doing.

However, he said that girls who provided information should know that the DA's office wouldn't co-operate with federal immigration authorities, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, when it came to disclosing the status of the trafficking victims. "We don't feel bound to cooperate with ICE on the victims," said Hynes. "Their immigration status is not something we are concerned about with the victims. We are concerned about them as individuals."

"Sex trafficking is one of the most barbaric crimes we deal with," Hynes added. "It happens all too often. We have to put an end to this horrific crime."

We need to combat this problem through the combination of law enforcement and education to warn parents and protect children from predators. U.S. State Department has reported that sex trafficking was on the rise in Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana and other Caribbean countries. UNICEF estimates 1.2 children globally are trafficked every year.

The DA's public information campaign is being heavily backed by LPNY, an advertising firm, which has created the posters, leaflets, public service announcement featuring Emmy-Award-winning actress Sarah Jessica Parker and Oscar nominee, Gaborney Sidibe, a Brooklyn native.

"It is important that we all fight this plague that affects the lives of so many children," Jessica Parker said. Sidibe agreed.

"The kids who are trafficked into prostitution are often runaways or victims of abusive parents," she said. "They're desperate and they're vulnerable and they're lost. The Brooklyn DA's office has opened BKSTU (Brooklyn Sex Trafficking Unit), so you can call it if you're a victim and they will protect you and keep you safe. That's a good thing."

Judy Lotas, a partner in the LPNY advertising firm, put it differently.

"The DA's Hotline is literally a lifeline for victims of sex trafficker," she said.

The DA's office recently indicted eight defendants for sex trafficking and many of them belonged to gangs. In some cases, they had allegedly recruited young girls from local schools and forced them into prostitution.

In addition, they used the Internet and organized parties where the girls would have sex with patrons who paid an entrance fee. If the girls didn't do what they were told they were threatened with violence.

A case to be tried involves David Young, 27, who is accused of forcing a 22 year old German mother into prostitution.

The defendant allegedly arranged sexual liaisons with Johns in Atlantic City, Miami, Las Vegas and other cities and is said to have beaten or threatened the woman, using her children as pawns in the alleged scheme.