Press Release  Nine Indicted for Trafficking Victims for Sex out of Residential Locations in Chelsea, East Boston and Lynn

Boston — Nine individuals have been indicted with trafficking victims for sex at three residential locations in Chelsea, East Boston and Lynn that served as alleged fronts for human trafficking, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today. 

The defendants were indicted on Thursday by a Statewide Grand Jury on the following charges: 

Cristina Lasso, age 47, of Lynn
Trafficking for Sexual Servitude (4 counts)
Own/Keeping House of Prostitution (4 counts)
Keeping House of Ill Fame (4 counts)
Conspiracy to Commit Trafficking (2 counts)
Money Laundering

Jose DeBlas, age 33, of Lynn
Trafficking for Sexual Servitude (4 counts)
Own/Keeping House of Prostitution (4 counts)
Keeping House of Ill Fame (4 counts)
Conspiracy to Commit Trafficking (2 counts)
Money Laundering

Jorge Lasso, age 54, of Chelsea
Trafficking for Sexual Servitude
Own/Keeping House of Prostitution
Keeping House of Ill Fame
Conspiracy to Commit Trafficking 
Money Laundering

Marlon Nagano, age 37, of East Boston
Trafficking for Sexual Servitude (3 counts)
Own/Keeping House of Prostitution (3 counts)
Keeping House of Ill Fame (3 counts)
Conspiracy to Commit Trafficking 
Money Laundering

Francisco Sanan Bay, age 30, of Chelsea
Trafficking for Sexual Servitude (2 counts)
Own/Keeping House of Prostitution (2 counts)
Keeping House of Ill Fame (2 counts)
Conspiracy to Commit Trafficking 
Money Laundering

Edmundo Rivera Gomez, age 50, of Lynn
Trafficking for Sexual Servitude (2 counts)
Own/Keeping House of Prostitution (2 counts)
Keeping House of Ill Fame (2 counts)
Conspiracy to Commit Trafficking (2 counts)

Donoban Yesid Arismendy Ospina, age 25, of Lynn
Trafficking for Sexual Servitude (3 counts)
Own/Keeping House of Prostitution (3 counts)
Keeping House of Ill Fame (3 counts)
Conspiracy to Commit Trafficking (2 counts)

Johana Haneo Torres, age 35 of Lynn
Trafficking for Sexual Servitude (3 counts)
Own/Keeping House of Prostitution (3 counts)
Keeping House of Ill Fame (3 counts)
Conspiracy to Commit Trafficking 

Luis Londono, age 44, of Marlboro
Trafficking of Persons for Sexual Servitude
Own/Keeping House of Prostitution
Keeping House of Ill Fame
Conspiracy to Commit Trafficking 

These defendants will be arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court on Oct. 16. Cristina Lasso, DeBlas, Gomez, Torres and Ospina will also be arraigned in Essex Superior Court at a later date. The defendants were previously arrested and arraigned in district court in August by Massachusetts State Police.

During the investigation, authorities developed evidence indicating that these defendants ran an organized criminal enterprise in various local residences where they offered customers the opportunity to pay for sexual contact with the victims.

The defendants allegedly recruited victims, advertised sexual services, set up locations and appointments for sexual encounters, transported the victims, escorted customers into the locations and facilitated the exchange of money. The AG’s Office alleges that the victims rarely, if ever, left the locations once arriving and, if so, were always accompanied by one of the defendants.

These charges are the result of a joint local, state and federal investigation, led by Massachusetts State Police High Risk Victims Unit and State Police assigned to the AG’s Office, with assistance from the State Police Troop A Troop Community Action Team, Crime Scene Services, Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section, Gang Unit, and Middlesex, Essex and Suffolk State Police Detective Units; the Lynn, Chelsea, Marlborough, Boston, Cambridge, and Lexington Police Departments; and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).   

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

AG Healey has a dedicated Human Trafficking Division that focuses on policy, prevention and prosecution and includes a team of specialized prosecutors, victim advocates and Massachusetts State Police troopers who handle high impact, multi-jurisdictional human trafficking investigations and prosecutions across the state. Through the Human Trafficking Division, the AG’s Office has charged more than 60 individuals in connection with human trafficking since the anti-trafficking law was passed.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Nancy Rothstein and Division Chief Elizabeth K. Keeley, both of the AG’s Human Trafficking Division, with assistance from Nikki Antonucci, Chief of the AG’s Victim Services Division, Financial Investigator Jill Petruzziello and Chief Financial Investigator Sallyann Nelligan. The investigation was handled by the Massachusetts State Police, with assistance from and Lynn, Chelsea, Marlborough, Boston, Cambridge, and Lexington Police Departments; and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the AG’s Digital Evidence Lab.

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