The Child Advocacy Program is pictured at its Jamestown location. P-J photo by Eric Tichy

Federal charges filed recently against a Jamestown woman accused of sex trafficking two minors has shed light on the cooperation taking place between several agencies whose goals are aimed at ending child abuse and ensuring those victimized receive the necessary care.

At the local level is the Child Advocacy Program, a nonprofit whose mission is to end child abuse in Chautauqua County with offices at 405 W. Third St. in Jamestown and 40 E. Main St. in Fredonia. When abuse is identified, the organization coordinates a community response to “bring healing, hope and justice to these children and families,” said Beth Oakes, CAP executive director.

Such coordination was detailed in a criminal complaint released Dec. 4 against 23-year-old Jasmin Osteen, who is facing two counts of sex trafficking of a minor in charges filed in U.S. District Court for Western District of New York.

Osteen is alleged to have “recruited, enticed, harbored, and transported” two 17-year-olds for sex between August and October of this year. The investigation commenced Sept. 23 after relatives for one of the minors notified the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office that the city woman may have been exploiting the victim.

The victim, according to the criminal complaint obtained by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, had moved in with Osteen at her Celoron residence. The victim later told authorities she was “forced to have sex with multiple unknown adults in exchange for money that was given to Osteen,” the complaint states.

The minor claims she was taken to other cities, including Erie, Pa., where she was introduced to drugs and put up in hotels “for purposes of having sex buyers engage in sexual acts,” the complaint notes. Some of the abuse reportedly took place in Buffalo and Cleveland.

A second victim also was reported to have been exploited when they were in Buffalo.

An agent with the Department of Homeland Security conducted forensic interviews with each of the victims with the assistance of Child Protective Services and the Child Advocacy Program.

CAP, Oakes detailed last week, originally started under the umbrella of the Chautauqua County District Attorney’s Office; it became a nonprofit in 2010. It’s part of a multidisciplinary team (MDT) that “facilitates, coordinates and integrates the prevention, investigation, prosecution, and treatment services of child sexual and physical abuse cases in Chautauqua County,” Oakes said.

The team is made up of personnel representing Child Protective Services, law enforcement, the DA’s office, mental health, medical and advocates of CAP and other organizations that work with child abuse cases. Oakes said CAP assists their partners in their role of investigation and works with all branches of law enforcement local, federal and military as needed.

While not speaking directly on the Osteen case, Oakes said forensic interviews are done at the request of investigative partners.

“Children are provided with a safe place to share their story in their own words to neutral experts who will listen to them,” she said. “The purposes of a forensic interview are to obtain information from a child that may be helpful in a criminal or CPS investigation; to assess the safety of the child’s living arrangements; to obtain information that will either corroborate or refute allegations or suspicions of abuse and neglect; to assess the need for medical treatment and psychological care.”

Also of importance is the Safe Harbour Program — a response by New York state and the county to the “growing number of identified cases of human trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation of children,” Oakes said. She noted that the program started in the county in late 2016 and was acquired by CAP in 2019.

U.S. Attorney James Kennedy noted the important role of local organizations that assist federal prosecutors. He said CAP is one such group that plays an important part in not only building cases against “predators,” but also assisting victims in the community.

“When a child becomes the victim of a predator, whether subjected to a horrific crime involving child pornography or sex trafficking, or a depraved act of violence, that child is forever changed and the consequences of their experience will no doubt impact them for the rest of their lives,” Kennedy told The Post-Journal. “Our office works hand-in-hand with our investigative partners in law enforcement at the federal, state, and local levels to hold accountable and bring to justice those responsible for these wicked crimes.

“However, equally important in the equation are the partners we work with at organizations like the Jamestown Child Advocacy Program. These individuals are often critical during the investigative process as we seek to build a case against a defendant. Investigations involving child predators can require the complex and delicate task of interviewing child victims. Child advocates possess not only the expertise but also the compassion needed to help a child victim navigate their important role in the investigation. In addition, they help child victims to begin the often incredibly difficult process of healing from their experience. We are forever grateful for our partners who advocate on behalf of child victims, we could not do our jobs without them doing theirs.”

To date, more 120 local youth have been identified as victims of trafficking or at-risk for exploitation.

“The (Safe Harbour) Program coordinator trains CAP’s MDT partners and other allied professionals to recognize the signs of trafficking and best practices for intervening, and assists with the development of youth-serving agencies’ policies supporting the prevention, identification, and intervention of human trafficking cases,” Oakes said. “Over 1,700 professionals and community members have been trained to understand the realities of trafficking in Chautauqua County.”

CAP also provides trauma-focused counseling when children or adolescents go through a traumatic event or experience. Licensed mental health professionals, Oakes said, provide evidence-based treatment to help youth and their families reduce the negative impact of trauma. That can include providing medical exams and prevention training.

“Over the last 10 years, Child Advocacy Centers have expanded into many communities across the country — 900 strong in 2019 serving over 370,000 children,” Oakes said. “The MDT approach promotes well-coordinated child abuse investigations that benefit from the input and attention of many different parties to ensure a successful conclusion to the investigation and to minimize additional trauma to the child victim. Not having to tell their stories over and over again is less traumatic to the children.

To learn more about human trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation of children or to schedule a virtual training for your organization, contact Safe Harbour Coordinator Kayleah Feser at feserk@capjustice.org.