Medford Human Trafficker Sentenced To 5 Years

MEDFORD, MA – A Middlesex Superior Court judge on Wednesday sentenced Xiu Chen to five years to five years and a day in state prison for her role in an area human trafficking ring. The 38-year-old Medford resident was found guilty earlier this month of six counts of trafficking of persons for sexual servitude, six counts of conspiracy to traffic persons for sexual servitude, five counts of deriving support from prostitution, five counts of keeping a house of ill fame and four counts of money laundering.

She will be on three years probation after completing her sentence, during which she cannot have contact with the victims or her co-defendant, Ronald Keplin, and cannot work in bodywork or massage businesses.

The state Attorney General's office said Chen and Keplin, a Woburn resident, set up massage parlors to serve as fronts for human trafficking and money laundering. The operation included the following businesses:

• Mystic Health Center, Medford
• Asian Bodywork (aka Bedford Wellness Center), Bedford
• Shrine Spa (aka Billerica Bodywork or Boston Chinese Club), Billerica
• Body Wellness Center, Reading
• Body Language, Wilmington
• Asian Bodywork (aka Woburn Wellness Bodywork), Woburn

Chen and Keplin were arrested in 2013. Investigators said the pair coordinated the recruitment of women from across the eastern seaboard, advertised sexual services on known prostitution websites, arranged sexual encounters for the women and managed the financial aspects of the operation.

According to former Attorney General Martha Coakley's office, the women were subject to poor living conditions and were sometimes relegated to sleeping on mattresses on the floor in overcrowded spaces or on the massage tables at the parlors.

Chen and Keplin funneled the money from prostitution into the daily operations of their businesses, including covering rent, utility bills and advertising, according to the AG. They were the first people charged under a new money laundering statute signed into law in late 2011.

The case against Keplin is ongoing.

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