Updated Information
4/9; 3:45 p.m.—According to the Rome Police Department, a search warrant was executed on April 7 in the 600 block of South James Street.
Officers secured electronic devices, firearms and a quantity of unidentified pills from the location.
The investigation is ongoing and more charges may be filed.
ORIGINAL STORY BELOW:
ROME, N.Y. — Two people have been indicted for running a prostitution operation that included sex trafficking a child and a gunpoint robbery in Manhattan, the Bronx, and the Rome and Utica areas.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced that Deanna DiCastro, 39, and Gilliam Cordero, 38, are charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with sex trafficking a child, robbery and promoting prostitution for crimes that happened between October 2025 and January 2026.
DiCastro and Cordero were taken into custody at a home on South James Street on Tuesday morning by New York State Police.
Bragg said, “As alleged, DiCastro and Cordero ran a prostitution operation that spanned from Manhattan to upstate New York. Disturbingly, that included the trafficking of at least one child. This investigation is active and ongoing. We urge anyone with information to call our Human Trafficking Unit at 212-335-3400.”
According to court documents, the pair, who have been dating for at least four years, worked together to post prostitution ads for various women and at least one underage girl starting Oct. 8, 2025, using Megapersonals.
They arranged prostitution encounters in hotels in Manhattan, the Bronx and near DiCastro’s Rome home.
The press release from Bragg states they used text messages to communicate with women and girls and instructed a child to perform prostitution, sending men to her hotel room and telling her to collect certain amounts of money.
On Nov. 16, 2025, DiCastro identified a person for Cordero to rob at gunpoint, and after receiving the person’s information, Cordero threatened to shoot the victim if they did not hand over their belongings.
The release notes that much of the money went through accounts controlled by DiCastro, and a vehicle used to transport women and girls was registered to her.
As a licensed peace officer, DiCastro was able to get a firearm license and has ten pistols registered in her name.
DiCastro was directly employed by the Office of Mental Health in a secure correctional facility that was part of a larger Department of Corrections and Community Supervision/OMH campus.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office Human Trafficking Unit is continuing its investigation and asks anyone with information to call 212-335-3400.
Two people have been indicted for running a prostitution operation that included sex trafficking a child and a gunpoint robbery in Manhattan, the Bronx, and the Rome and Utica areas.