A former Brockton, Massachusetts, resident was sentenced Thursday to 12 years in prison for participating in a sex trafficking conspiracy, federal officials stated.
Matthew Engram, 35, had previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; two counts of transportation of an individual for purposes of prostitution; and one count of conspiracy to commit interstate travel in aid of a racketeering enterprise.
According to court documents, from January 2009 until August 2015, Engram and a co-conspirator recruited and trafficked three victims from a residence in Brockton and elsewhere, and Engram took all or part of the proceeds.
Engram advertised the victims on websites, exchanged text messages with his co-conspirator to share advertisements, organized prostitution dates, and reserved hotel rooms, officials stated.
When the victims did not comply with Engram’s demands to prostitute for his profit, he physically assaulted them or directed his co-conspirator to physically assault them. Engram also transported or caused the transport of the victims to other states, including Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, Florida and Maine, to perform commercial sex acts.
“Sex trafficking is an atrocious crime that dehumanizes victims by depriving them of their freedom and dignity,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke. “This sentence demonstrates that there are severe consequences for those who seek to exploit vulnerable young women for financial profit.”
“Mr. Engram took advantage of numerous young women through psychological manipulation, violence and fear,” said U.S. Attorney Rachael S. Rollins for the District of Massachusetts. “For over six years, he profited off of their pain and exploitation. Although we can never take away the trauma and violence endured by these survivors, today’s sentencing makes clear that the federal government is committed to eliminating human trafficking and holding traffickers accountable.”
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Boston Police Department.
Officials stated that Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of U.S. Attorney Rollins’s Major Crimes Unit and Trial Attorneys Shan Patel and Vasantha Rao of the Civil Rights Division prosecuted the case.