PORTLAND, Maine — Two people from Massachusetts were sentenced in Maine on Monday for their roles in sex trafficking across both New England states.
Richard Middleton, 32, of Boston, Massachusetts was sentenced to 30 years in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release after a jury found him guilty in December 2023 of "sex trafficking a young woman through force, fraud and coercion and obstruction in Maine," according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Middleton's co-defendant Sherry Jones of Dorchester, Massachusetts was sentenced to 80 months in prison and five years of supervised release after she had pleaded guilty in May 2023 to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking.
During the trial, it was revealed that Middleton "exploited a 25-year-old Maine woman who was suffering with substance abuse disorder and compelled her to engage in commercial sex, using drugs, lies, intimidation, physical violence and rape as means to control her," the release stated.
Middleton, Jones, and co-defendant Mathew Thatcher of Scarborough, Maine reportedly brought the 25-year-old woman to several locations in Maine and Massachusetts in November 2015, according to the release. Throughout their travels, Middleton reportedly abused and berated the woman, including rape and threatened to "make money off her." Middleton also told a co-defendent not to cooperate with the investigation, the release stated.
Thatcher was sentenced on March 22 to 44 months in prison and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty in November 2023 to interstate transportation in aid of racketeering and contempt of court.
The case was investigated by the HSI New England Field Office, Portland Resident Agent in Charge Office with assistance from the FBI, Biddeford Police Department, Portland Police Department, South Portland Police Department, Topsham Police Department, and Saco Police Department.
