Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
Boston police arrest 13 in human trafficking bust near Mass. and Cass
The Boston Police Department said its mission is to “reduce fear, enhance public safety, and improve the quality of life for residents” near Mass. and Cass.
Boston police arrested 13 people Monday as part of a human trafficking bust focused on the long-troubled area known as Mass. and Cass.
The operation targeted individuals who were allegedly engaged in criminal activity around Newmarket Square, just blocks away from the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard. In recent years, the area has risen to infamy as Boston’s hub for overlapping crises of homelessness, addiction, and mental illness.
Mass. and Cass:
According to a Boston police news release, Monday’s joint initiative also involved the Massachusetts State Police Special Services Section High-Risk Victims Unit and the FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. Authorities said some of their goals included reducing sexual exploitation and disrupting the recruitment of victims, curbing property crime, and “mitigating blight-related concerns.”
Advertisement:
“This coordinated effort supports the Boston Police Department’s mission to reduce fear, enhance public safety, and improve the quality of life for residents,” the department added.
South End neighbors have long been sounding the alarm about worsening conditions in the area, from used needle sightings to reports of mounting trash and human waste scattered throughout the neighborhood. Their complaints recently prompted Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn to file a resolution to declare the Mass. and Cass. area a public health, safety, and humanitarian crisis. Flynn’s resolution was referred to the Committee on Public Health, Homelessness, and Recovery for further study.
Advertisement:
“Any reasonable person who visits the area will agree the city’s plan has failed,” he said during a City Council meeting last week. “What has taken place there over a decade is completely unacceptable. Open air drug market, dealing to dozens and dozens of people. Public drug use. Human trafficking. Acts of serious violence. Public defecation, urination.”
Flynn added: “If this is not a public safety and public health emergency and a humanitarian crisis, I don’t know what is.”
Nine of the people arrested Monday were charged with paying for sex and have since been released on personal recognizance. They include: Eliphete Pierre, 33, of Brockton; Nathan McGuire, 48, of Boston; Donell P. Bernard, 38, of Brockton; Stephen C. Leong, 40, of Marshfield; Jamal Pryor, 49, of Boston; Rey F. Becceril, 47, of Brockton; Christifier C. Littlewood, 43, of Winchendon; Cristian Brito-Delahera, 26, of Melrose; Obdulio Perez Ixcot, 44, of Everett; and Mohamed A. Mahgoub, 31, of Boston. McGuire was also arrested on an outstanding warrant for violations of auto laws, police said.
Adam C. Evans, 46, of Brockton, pleaded not guilty to possession of a Class B substance and was released on personal recognizance. Gedenilson C. Ribeiro, 40, of Everett, faces charges of paying for sex and resisting arrest. It was not immediately clear Tuesday whether Ribeiro had already been arraigned.
Advertisement:
Boston police said Ralph Milord, 30, of Stoughton, was arrested on outstanding default warrants out of Boston Municipal Court for disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, resisting arrest, interfering with a police officer, withholding evidence from a criminal proceeding, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com