Trafficking Defendant Investigated in Connecticut Gets 11 Years

WETHERSFIELD, CT — A defendant in a human trafficking case investigated, in part, by Wethersfield and state police, has been given more than a decade in prison.

John H. Durham, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, said that 26-year-old Mohamed Abdi, who goes by the street name of “Vic,”of Worcester, MA, was sentenced on Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to 135 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for sex trafficking.

According to case records, between late December 2016 and Jan. 5, 2017, Abdi and his girlfriend used "threats, force and coercion" to cause a "female victim" to engage in prostitution.

Abdi and his girlfriend advertised the victim’s prostitution services on Backpage.com and other websites, rented Connecticut hotel rooms where the victim engaged in prostitution, and transported the victim to engage in sexual acts with customers at the hotels and private residences in Connecticut and elsewhere, according to case records.

Abdi provided the victim with heroin, but withheld the drug from the victim until after she provided sexual services to additional customers, according to case records.

Abdi and his girlfriend also warned the victim not to contact police and made threats against the victim and her child, Durham said.

Abdi has been in custody since his arrest on related state charges on Jan. 5, 2017. On April 4, of this year, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion.

As a condition of his supervised release, Abdi will be required to register as a sex offender, Durham said.

The case was investigated by the Connecticut Human Trafficking Task Force, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Connecticut State Police, with the assistance of the Wethersfield Police Department and the Worcester Police Department.

Photo Credit: Chris Dehnel

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