Plea Entered In Fed Sex Trafficking Case With Vernon Ties

VERNON, CT/BOSTON – A Massachusetss man has entered a guilty plea to federal sex trafficking charges in a case involving a call to Vernon police.

Duhamel Cassagnol, 30, entered a guilty plea on Sept. 25 to sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion; engaging in a conspiracy to commit sex trafficking; and transporting an individual for prostitution, prosecutors said.

U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs scheduled sentencing for Dec.18, prosecutors said.

On Dec. 8, 2017, Cassagnol was arrested along with Geneiva Whaley, 23, of Connecticut. In May 2018, Whaley pleaded guilty to one count of transportation of an individual for prostitution.

Between approximately July 2014 and February 2016, Cassagnol worked with Whaley to prostitute several victims. Cassagnol and Whaley advertised the victims using online ad-posting sites, including Backpage.com, and housed the victims in hotel rooms reserved in Whaley’s name in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and Florida.

One incident that spurred the investigation was a call to Vernon police from a hospital in Boston about a potential sexual assault at a local hotel.

The victims being prostituted were addicted to drugs, usually heroin, according to prosecutors.

To keep their victims compliant, Cassagnol and Whaley provided them with drugs in exchange for the income the women earned through prostitution and they were only entitled to drugs if they generated income, prosecutors said.

In some instances, Cassagnol was violent and threatened several of the women and the violence included beating the victims and, during one instance, forcing a victim to use drugs against her will, prosecutors said.

The charge of sex trafficking through force, fraud, or coercion provides for a sentence of no less than 15 years and up to life in prison, no less than five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.

The charge of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking provides for a sentence of up to life in prison, no less than five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.

The charge of transporting an individual for prostitution provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, no less than five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.

Each count also provides for mandatory restitution and forfeiture.

Photo Credit: Chris Dehnel

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