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Ronald Hall, 48, of Woonsocket, admitted in August to the near decade-long operation and pleaded guilty to four counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion and one count of transportation of an individual to engage in prostitution, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said. In addition to the 18 years behind bars, Hall must also pay restitution to his victims. A judge will set that amount later.
Investigators said Hall used Backpage.com to recruit women struggling with drug addictions to work as prostitutes. From 2010 through 2019, Hall trafficked them to seven states — Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Florida, and Nevada — to have sex with paying customers, authorities said.
He forced them to work multiple times a day, seven days a week, but Hall kept nearly all of their earnings for himself, authorities said. Hall used fear, intimidation, and violence to keep the women working. The prosecutor said those tactics included rape, starvation, and assault with weapons, such as knives, belts, and baseball bats. Investigators said he also made some of them brand themselves with his nickname.
“Mr. Hall is a predator driven by high profits and low risks," US Attorney Rachael Rollins said. "He targeted and exploited five vulnerable victims with substance use disorder – utilizing addiction and false promises of good earnings for recruitment – and then used extreme violence, threats, and isolation to create a climate of fear from which he could maintain control and exploit them for his own profit."
Massachusetts State Police began investigating Hall in January 2020 after a woman was arrested driving a stolen car registered to Hall. She told the troopers that he forced her to work as a prostitute and abused her.
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