Man who sexually exploited a young woman in Maine is sentenced to 30 years in prison

A man identified as Ricardo Middleton, 32, of Boston, was sentenced this week to 30 years in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, after A jury found him guilty in December 2023 of sexually exploiting a 25-year-old girl in Maine.

Evidence presented at trial showed that Middleton exploited the woman, who suffered from a substance abuse disorder, and forced her to have commercial sex, using drugs, lies, intimidation, physical violence and rape as means to control her.

Middleton’s co-defendant, Sherry Jones, of Dorchester, Massachusetts, was also sentenced to 80 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. She had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking on May 23, 2023.

The victim’s testimony provided details of the three days in November 2015, in which Middleton, along with Jones and co-defendant Mathew Thatcher, transported the woman to various locations in Maine and Massachusetts. In the path, Middleton berated the victim, abused her and humiliated heraccording to a statement from the United States Department of Justice.

“This significant sentence imposed by the court reflects the severity of the defendant’s exploitation of the victim for three days. He used drugs, threats, physical force and rape to force her to engage in commercial sex for her own benefit,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

“These acts were hateful and intolerable. They denied the basic humanity of the victim. “The Department of Justice will aggressively prosecute human trafficking crimes to hold offenders accountable and seek justice for survivors of these heinous crimes,” he added.

U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee for the District of Maine said commercial sex trafficking traumatizes its victims and strips them of their freedom and dignity.

“Addressing this serious crime is a priority for my office. “I commend the commitment of the police team who worked diligently on this important case for years, always keeping the safety and recovery of the vulnerable Middleton victim as their top priority,” he said.

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