'Truly chilling': Fall River residents charged for operating MA, SC sex trafficking ring

BOSTON — Six people – including three Fall River residents – are facing federal charges for allegedly operating a sex trafficking ring involving local underaged teens.

One of the alleged ring leaders was operating the illegal organization from a South Carolina jail where he was being held for attempted murder in 2023.

A federal grand jury indicted on Thursday: Christy Parker, 26, of Fall River; and her boyfriend, Alexander Smalls, 25, of Beaufort County, S.C.; Cory Primo, 42, of Fall River; Avvani Jeffers, 22, of Fall River; Tre’sean Reid, 21, of Beaufort County, S.C.; and Tyreik Reid, 20, of Allendale, S.C.

Tre’sean Reid and Tyreik Reid are the brothers of Smalls, who along with Parker, headed up the alleged trafficking ring.

The six defendants are charged with sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; sex trafficking of a minor; and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

One of the underage victims was reported to have been forced to have sex with more than 100 men, according to court records. Another of the minor victims was forced to have sex with five to six “johns” a day and earn $5,000 a night, according to court documents.

Federal prosecutors allege the victims were forced into the commercial sex trade both physically and verbally, including threats to shoot one of the victims’ father.

Parker, Smalls and Primo are held on state charges and are set to appear in federal court later, according to a news release, and Jeffers was arrested Thursday and was expected to appear in federal court yesterday.

Where the sex trafficking ring operated out of in southeastern Massachusetts

At least three of the sex trafficking victims, two who are minors and an adult female, were forced to have sex with men in Fall River, Somerset, Boston, Rhode Island and South Carolina.

One of the locations was at the Obrbitz Inn hotel on 637 Riverside Ave., in Somerset, where much of the illegal sex activity reportedly occurred in room 119 in several instances in the summer of 2023 and when Parker was arrested.

Management at the Orbitz Inn, after a request for comment, indicated that they would be reporting a reporter’s phone number to police.

“There is no sex trafficking going on here,” said a woman who did not identify herself.

Disturbing affidavit by Homeland Security special agent

Included in federal court documents is a 21-page affidavit written by Homeland Security special agent Dale Crispin, assigned to the New England Human Trafficking group.

In it, Crispin maps out a series of horrific events for the alleged victims that began in late 2022 and early 2023 when Parker and Smalls coerced an adult friend of Parker’s to work in the illegal sex trade scheme.

According to Crispin, the alleged victim allowed Parker to move in with her in Fall River because she was homeless and that’s when she Smalls, convinced the woman to quit her job and engage in prostitution.

Parker and Smalls allegedly forced the woman to sign a “profit sharing contract,” requiring the victim to “remain loyal and humble and stay focused.”

Smalls was arrested in South Carolina in March 2023, leaving Parker in charge of the illegal operation. He is accused of sending some of the proceeds to Smalls while in custody in the southern jail.

As Smalls' time in jail went on, the money Parker was sending was meant to pay for lawyers and his release on bail, according to court documents.

Parker allegedly used violence and threats to force the woman to continue eliciting sex for money, including a threat to call the Department of Children and Families to take away her child.

Parker reportedly brought the woman to South Carolina to continue the sex trafficking scheme, keeping all the money

It is further alleged that, in the spring of 2023, Parker traveled with the victim to South Carolina where she continued sex trafficking the victim and collecting all of the profits.

When they returned from South Carolina, Parker enlisted help from Primo and Jeffers to traffic the victim in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

During the sex trafficking enterprise, that police and federal law enforcement operated between January 2023 and August 2023, Smalls brothers oversaw “retaliation and enforcement” against the victims.

Coercing minor victims with violence

During the sex trafficking scheme, Parker enlisted the help of one minor female to recruit other potential victims.

In July 2023, Parker was introduced to a 16-year-old minor female who allegedly forced the teenager to begin working in the sex trade

Prosecutors say this is the victim who was forced to have sex with over 100 men and used physical violence, drugs and alcohol and deprived her of sleep reportedly beating her when she did.

At one point the teenager was deprived of food for 4 to 5 days and refused to provide her with medical treatment when she miscarried.

In August 2023, Parker allegedly began to sexually traffick a 17-year-old who had run away from a group home.

She was the victim who was allegedly forced to have sex with up to six men a night, with some of those sex acts occurring at the Somerset motel.

The minor was not given any of the money and was threatened with violence if she refused to have sex with the male customers.

According to court documents, the girl contacted her social worker from the group home on Aug. 23, 2023, and told her she was being held against her will in room 119 and forced to have sex with men.

The social worker called 911 and Somerset and Fall River police responded to the Orbitz Inn.

Police would find multiple women and girls including the two teenaged victims referenced in the indictments.

Police investigators served a search warrant for rooms 119 and 120, and confiscated surveillance video.

“Surveillance video from the Orbits [sic] Inn show that Parker, Primo and Jeffers went in and out of the hotel rooms while sex buyers arrived for commercial sex dates and then left,” wrote Crispin in his affidavit.

What is the punishment for sex trafficking

“The allegations in this case are truly chilling. According to this indictment, one minor victim in this case was forced to engage in sex for money with over 100 different men. That young girl is someone’s daughter, she is someone’s granddaughter. It is hard to conceive of more vile conduct than what is set forth in these charges. Sex trafficking is not a distant problem – it is happening right here, in our neighborhoods, and often goes unnoticed or unreported,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy.

The charge of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, provides for a sentence of at least 15 years and up to life in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.

The charge of sex trafficking of a minor provides for a sentence of at least 10 years and up to life in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of $ 250,000.

The charge of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking provides for a sentence of up to life in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Other law enforcement assistance was provided by the Somerset, Fall River and Seekonk Police Departments; Bristol County District Attorney’s Office; Massachusetts State Police; and the Beaufort County (S.C.) Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Riley-Cunniffe, Chief of the Civil Rights & Human Trafficking Unit and Trial Attorney Francisco Zornosa of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit are prosecuting the case.

If you or someone you know may be impacted or experiencing commercial sex trafficking, please contact USAMA.VictimAssistance@usdoj.gov.  

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Fall River residents indicted for running 2 state sex trafficking ring