An Essex County husband and wife have been arrested and charged with sex trafficking, forced labor and other charges in a federal indictment, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey said Saturday.
Authorities said Treva Edwards, 60, and Christine Edwards, 63, proclaimed themselves as pastors of an Orange church that operated out of a multi-unit apartment building there. The indictment said they recruited congregants and then “dispatched the victims to perform the contracted labor.”
Treva Edwards controlled and subjected one victim to repeated physical and sexual assaults, according to the charges.
The pair were arrested Friday and arraigned in federal court Saturday, authorities said. They were indicted last month for committing their alleged crimes from 2011 to 2020.
The investigation was part of the New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office Human Trafficking Task Force, which was formed this year.
“If you engage in human trafficking, we will find you, and we will prosecute you,” acting U.S. Attorney Habba said in a statement. “We are committed to working alongside our partners to ensure that those who target the most vulnerable are brought to justice.”
A request for comments from defense attorneys listed on the court documents were not immediately returned,
Habba was also in the news Friday after Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested and charged with trespassing on a property in Newark that federal immigration services are using to detain people who have been taken into custody.
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Bill Duhart may be reached at [email protected].