MA Man Convicted of Sex Trafficking 25-year-old South Portland Woman

Following a four-day trial, a federal jury in the District of Maine convicted a Massachusetts man Friday of sex trafficking and obstruction of trafficking prosecution.

Ricardo Middleton, also known as “red,” 32, of Boston, was found guilty of sex trafficking a young woman through force, fraud and coercion, as well as instructing a co-defendant not to incriminate him while detained pending trial.

He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison.

According to court records Middleton targeted a heroin-addicted 25-year-old woman living in South Portland, and coerced her to engage in commercial sex through drugs, lies, intimidation, physical violence and rape.

Testimony during the trial provided details of three days in November 2015, when Middleton alongside his co-defendants Sherry Jones of Dorchester, Massachusetts, and Matthew Thatcher of Scarborough, Maine, transported the victim to several locations in both Maine and Massachusetts.

“This defendant preyed on this vulnerable victim, and used cruel and brutal violence to coerce her into commercial sex acts for his own financial gain,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in a Monday press release.

The victim testified that Middleton raped her, told her that he was “going to make a lot of money off” her, and beat her and threw pennies at her when she said she was hungry and asked to buy food.

“The prosecution of human trafficking in Maine is a top priority for my office, and this verdict ensures that Middleton will be held accountable for this unconscionable crime,” said Darcie McElwee, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maine.

“Human trafficking takes advantage of our most vulnerable citizens and seeks to rob them of their basic human rights,” McElwee said. “Middleton perpetrated significant violence upon this victim, including sexual assault, all to coerce and exploit her into committing commercial sexual acts for Middleton’s own profit and gain.”