Press Release  Lynn Woman Indicted for Trafficking a Minor From Saugus Group Home

Boston — A Lynn woman has been indicted in connection with trafficking a minor for sexual servitude in Boston and Worcester from a Saugus group home at which she worked and where the victim lived, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today.

Ashley Goodrich, age 27, of Lynn, was indicted Thursday by a Statewide Grand Jury on charges of Trafficking of a Minor for Sexual Servitude (4 counts), Deriving Support from Prostitution of a Minor (1 count), and Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor (4 counts) in connection with trafficking a minor for commercial sexual exploitation. She will be arraigned at a later date in Suffolk and Worcester Counties.

The AG’s Office began an investigation in May 2018 after the matter was referred by the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office. Authorities allege that Goodrich, a former employee of Eliot Community Human Services (Eliot), targeted and recruited the minor while working at the group residence. The residence was a home for minors referred from the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to provide congregate care for adolescents and was operated by Eliot in Saugus.

Goodrich allegedly posted ads online offering sexual services in exchange for money. Authorities allege Goodrich drove the minor to these sexual encounters in Boston and Worcester and coordinated them during times when the minor had run away from the home.

AG Healey’s Victim Services Division is working to ensure the victim has the needed assistance and services. The group home in Saugus has since been closed and Goodrich was terminated from the company. DCF participated in the investigation in collaboration with law enforcement and moved all residents of the home to other placements to ensure their safety and well-being.

This case is being handled through the AG’s dedicated Human Trafficking Division, which focuses on policy, prevention and criminal prosecutions. Through that division, the AG’s Office has charged more than 40 individuals in connection with human trafficking since the law went into effect in 2012. 

These charges are allegations and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Jeff Bourgeois of AG Healey’s Human Trafficking Division, with assistance from the Massachusetts State Police assigned to the AG’s Office, the AG’s Digital Evidence Lab, Investigator Jillian Petruzziello of AG Healey’s Financial Investigations Division and Victim Witness Advocate Rebecca Quigley of the AG’s Victim Services Division. FBI Boston Division’s Human Trafficking-Child Exploitation Task Force, the Revere and Saugus Police Departments, the Department of Children and Families, and the Department of Early Education and Care also assisted in the investigation.

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