New Details About Corinna Slusser And The Man Arrested In Connection With Her Disappearance
She's been missing for over a year.
Instagram The mother of missing Pennsylvania woman Corinna Slusser believes her daughter is being held against her will as a victim of sex trafficking.
The last time Corinna's mother, Sabina Tuorto, spoke with her daughter was Sept. 20, 2017. Corinna, who would now be 20, became very distant in the months leading up to her disappearance following her move from her small hometown in Pennsylvania to New York. When no one heard from her in over a week, Tuorto contacted police.
“I know if she was capable, she would have called me,” she told DailyMail, adding that she believes she fell victim to a sex trafficking ring in the city. “She’s being controlled. I don’t know what they’ve done to her, whether she’s on drugs or mentally unstable or whatever. But I know she’s not herself.”
The small town cheerleader had moved to the Big Apple in hopes of a more exciting life but became involved in prostitution, her mother said. Corinna was last seen at the Haven Motel in Queens on Sept. 20 and has not been seen or heard from since.
"Everything went downhill so quickly,’ she said. "Corinna made enemies. She stopped speaking to her friends. They would see pictures of her on Snapchat smoking and with guns."
Corinna's mother said she knew Bloomberg was not big or exciting enough for her daughter and she quickly became swallowed by the escorting life she created in New York.
"She got in trouble for underage drinking, and we started fighting," Tuorto continued. "Next thing, she’s moving to New York. I couldn’t stop her, she was an adult... I guess she was running away from that life. I never would have suspected prostitution though. It just didn’t cross my mind back then."
It's been over a year since Corinna went missing and her mother is heartbroken.
“I don’t know if Corinna is still alive. I pray that she is,” Tuorto said on an episode of Dr. Phil. “I love her. I want her to come home.”
Authorities believe they are getting closer to finding Slusser following last month's arrest of a man that allegedly advertised her for sex online.
Ishi Woney, 23, was arrested in New Jersey on Nov. 2 and charged with sex trafficking and other offenses involving the sexual exploitation of young women, including violating the Mann Act, according to a press release. He advertised a "two girl special" using a photo of Corina and another girl.
“As alleged, Woney compelled his victim to engage in prostitution through force and coercion, and he used both this victim and Corinna Slusser, who has been missing since September 2017, in online advertisements promoting prostitution," said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. Woney faces a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 15 years and could face up to life behind bars.
“I hope this [arrest] leads to other things," Tuorto told the New York Post after the arrest was made. "I want my daughter found.”
But Corinna is still missing.
"She’s just one more drugged up lost soul," her mother said, referring to the girls and women lost to sex trafficking crimes each year.
Tuorto spoke to DailyMail about spending the holidays without her daughter. She spent Thanksgiving alone and worked through Christmas Day to avoid celebrating without Corinna.
"Corinna is all I think about," she said. "I can never feel happy. It takes every bit of my energy just to get up every day."
"It just doesn’t feel right to celebrate when Corinna’s not here," she told the outlet.
The distraught mother wants others to realize how prevalent sex trafficking is and that what happened to Corinna could happen to you or someone you know. The signs are there, Tuorta said, she just wasn't looking for them.
"If it could happen to Corinna it could happen to anyone," she warned. "We live in a small, safe town. You just don’t expect this sort of thing to happen here. I can’t go on for 10 years like this. The not knowing is just unbearable. I don’t know if she is alive, but I can only hope that she is. Somebody out there must know something.”
Corinna is described as 5-foot-6, weighing 140lbs, with blonde hair and blue eyes. her appearance may have been altered. She has a large black tattoo of a flower in the middle of her chest.
If you have information about Corinna Slusser, please contact the NYPD Sex Trafficking Hotline at (646) 610-7272. You can also call the FBI Tip Line at 1-(800) CALL-FBI, 1-(800)-225-5324 or visit tips.fbi.gov.
Sarah Gangraw writes about all things news, entertainment and crime. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter.