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Ex-Mass High School Staffer Who Worked With At-Risk Teens Charged With Raping Child: DA
A former high school staffer who worked with at-risk teenagers has been charged with 30 sex crimes involving children, including forcible rape, child pornography, and trafficking, authorities said.
John Jamar Cokley, 38, of Boston, is accused of seven counts of sex trafficking of a child, five counts of aggravated rape of a child, one count of rape of a child by force, three counts of posing a child in a state of nudity, four counts of posing a child in a state of sexual conduct, four counts of enticing a child under 18 into commercial sex, two counts of inducing a minor to sell a…
High-End Prostitution Network Serviced Mass's Elite, Elected Officials: Feds
Three people were arrested and charged with running a high-end prostitution network in Massachusetts and Virginia that catered to VIP customers and elected officials. It was so exclusive that potential "Johns" had to provide references to book appointments, federal authorities said.
Han Lee, age 41, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, James Lee, age 68, of Torrance, California, and Junmyung Lee, age 30, of Dedham, Massachusetts, were all charged with running the operation that serviced elected officials, high-tech and pharmaceutical executives, doctors, military officers, government…
Central Massachusetts Couple Accused Of Sex Trafficking Victim To Multiple States: Feds
A Worcester husband and wife potentially face life in prison after federal investigators said they forced a person into prostitution and trafficked them to multiple states for sex.
Kiersten Soto, 29, and Moises Soto, 30, were arrested on Friday, Dec. 16, after investigators said they "used force, fraud, and coercion to traffic a victim for commercial sex in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Rhode Island" from February through May 2022, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said.
Not much more is known about the allegations as the indictment is sealed.
The Sotos a…
CT Resident Sentenced For Recruiting, Transporting Teen Girl To Engage In Commercial Sex
A 24-year-old man has been sentenced after he admitted to bringing a 16-year-old girl to a Connecticut hotel to engage in commercial sex acts.
Joel Lindsay, who last resided in East Hartford, was sentenced on Thursday, Sept. 22, to more than 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to sex trafficking of a minor on Oct. 15, 2021, according to Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
Lindsay conspired with an associate, Joseph Pina, to recruit and transport a 16-year-old girl to engage in commercial sex acts in October of 2019, the US Attorney's Offi…
‘Trusted Lieutenant’ Of Westchester College Sex-Cult Leader Admits To Conspiracy
A former Westchester County college student who fell under the spell of convicted sex-cult leader Larry Ray has pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder money for his illegal dealings.
Isabella Pollok, age 31, a former student at Sarah Lawrence College, located near the border of Yonkers and Bronxville, who was described as Ray's "trusted lieutenant," pleaded guilty on Wednesday, Sept. 7 to one count related to Ray's twisted plot in Manhattan federal court.
Ray, now age 62, will be sentenced in December on more than a dozen charges, including extortion, sex trafficking, and racketeering cons…
NY College Sex Cult Leader Found Guilty On All Charges
Larry Ray, the leader of a sex cult run out of his daughter's dorm room at a New York college located in Westchester County, will face life in prison after being found guilty by a jury of sexually exploiting and trafficking girls.
Ray, now 62 years old following multiple delays in his trial and prosecution, was found guilty of 15 counts that include racketeering, sex trafficking, conspiracy, forced labor, extortion, tax evasion, and other crimes in relation to his scheme at Sarah Lawrence College, located near the border of Yonkers and Bronxville.
Related story - DOJ Acciden…
CT Man Sentenced For Child Sex Trafficking
A 24-year-old man has been sentenced to years in federal prison for sex trafficking a teenage girl at Connecticut hotels, authorities announced.
Hartford County resident Joseph Pina, of East Hartford, was sentenced to 96 months (eight years) in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for a sex trafficking offense involving a 16-year-old girl.
US Attorney Leonard Boyle said that in October 2019, Pina and associate Joel Lindsay, a citizen of Jamaica, recruited and transported the teenage girl to engage in commercial sex acts.
Specifically, on Oct. 17, 2019, Pina, Lindsa…
CT Duo Admits To Child Sex Trafficking
Two Connecticut men have pleaded guilty in federal court to offenses related to the sex trafficking of a minor.
Joel Lindsay, age 23, and Joseph Pina, age 24, both of East Hartford, made the plea on Friday, Oct. 15 in Hartford, said Leonard C Boyle, Acting US Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in October 2019, Lindsay and Pina recruited, enticed, and transported a minor victim to engage in commercial sex acts.
Specifically, in October 2019, Lindsay, Pina, and another individual picked up the minor victim and took her t…
Western Mass Man Admits To Racketeering Involving Prostitution
A Western Massachusetts man has admitted in federal court to racketeering offenses relating to the promotion of commercial sex.
Kevin Smoot, age 59, of Springfield, pleaded guilty on Monday, April 12, to one count of conspiracy to use a facility to promote prostitution and seven counts of use of a facility of interstate commerce to promote prostitution offenses, according to Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Nathaniel R. Mendell.
On Friday, June 26, 2020, Smoot was arrested and charged by complaint. He was indicted in July 2020.
According to a criminal complaint,…
Local Pimp's Accomplice Faces Life In Prison For Recruiting, Exploiting Prostitutes
A Springfield woman has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from her work recruiting vulnerable females into a life of forced sex work, violence, and drug addiction.
On Tuesday, March 9, Shannon Yelinek, 36, of Springfield, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Massachusetts, said.
Yelinek was accused of working with co-conspirator/pimp William Coleman who pleaded guilty to sex trafficking crimes in September 2020 and received a sentence of 186 months in prison. Coleman operated a prostitution business that used violence and drug addiction as mea…
Suspected Pimp Faces Life Sentence; Allegedly Forced 5 Victims Into Prostitution
A man who allegedly prostituted five victims in Connecticut and Massachusetts, as well as other states, is facing at least 10 years and up to a lifetime in prison if convicted.
On Wednesday, Oct. 28, Ronald Hall, 48, of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, and formerly of Connecticut, was indicted on five charges of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and one count of transportation of an individual with the intent to engage in prostitution, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Massachusetts.
Hall is accused of pimping in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and …
