Dorchester man charged with running prostitution ring out of his home

By Colin A. Young

May 14, 2012

1 minute to read

A Dorchester man who allegedly ran a prostitution ring out of his home is expected back in court today to face a felony charge of making income from being a pimp, Suffolk County prosecutors said.

Leroy Lockett, 59, pleaded not guilty at his March arraignment in Dorchester District Court to a charge of deriving support from prostitution, which is punishable by up to five years in state prison, prosecutors said. Lockett was ordered held on $2,500 bail. He is slated to return to court today for a pre-trial conference.

Lockett was arrested by Boston police after an investigation found that he was allegedly pimping as many as four women out of his apartment on Adams Street. Lockett set the rates at which the women were paid, took half of what the women were paid, and charged each john an additional $30 for the room, District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s office said.

“Cases like this one only are at the heart of our prosecution strategy, which is to prioritize charges against pimps and johns who drive prostitution in Boston and Suffolk County,’’ Conley said in a statement.

According to authorities, Lockett expected the women he was pimping to service three or four men on weekdays and more on weekends. If the women refused to work, prosecutors said, Lockett would threaten or beat them.