5 Arrested in Scheming to Exploit Vulnerable Women; Sex Parties Held at Hotels in Northborough

MASSACHUSETTS — Five people were indicted on Thursday in connection with three separate human trafficking schemes in the state. Some of charges are in connection with exchanging sexual favors for drugs, luring women to hotels for sex acts, prostitution and money laundering.

Attorney General Maura Healey, who has been vocal on her continued push to end human trafficking in Massachusetts, was joined by federal and law enforcement partners and survivor and advocacy organizations to make the announcement.

“No little girl grows up wanting to be involved in a life of sexual exploitation. They do not dream about a career selling their bodies as commodities,” said AG Healey in a statement. “The victims of these egregious crimes have not chosen this path for themselves. Traffickers prey on vulnerable people who often have no other options. We will continue to work with our partners in law enforcement, as well as survivor and advocacy groups, to end the exploitation of people in Massachusetts.”

The AG's Office has charged 25 individuals in connection with human trafficking since legislation was passed in 2011.

Harold Jack Lucas, 61, of Lowell was indicted by a Statewide Grand Jury on charges of Trafficking in Persons for Sexual Servitude (three counts), Deriving Support from Prostitution (two counts) and Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl. He will be arraigned in Middlesex Superior Court at a later date.

Lucas's charges stem from supplying women with drugs to get them to engage in sexual acts for a profit. Lowell police arrested him on Jan. 22. Lucas allegedly supplied multiple women with fentanyl in exchange for engaging in commercial sexual activity. According to authorities, Lucas would distribute the drugs two to three times a day to the women and would transport and drop them off at various locations where they would solicit and engage in sexual acts for a fee, said the AG's Office in a release.

The women then handed over the money to Lucas, who allegedly required them to reach a certain quota of encounters each night.

In February, a law criminalizing the trafficking of fentanyl, which is up to 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more powerful than heroin, went into effect.

Courtney C. Nicholopoulos, 40, and Jon A. Lowell, age 45, both of Hubbardston, were indicted by a Statewide Grand Jury on charges of Trafficking of Persons for Sexual Servitude (three counts each) and Conspiracy to Traffic Persons for Sexual Servitude (three counts each). Lowell was also charged with Sexual Conduct for a Fee (three counts). They will be arraigned in Worcester and Middlesex Superior Courts at later dates.

Both allegedly recruited and lured women to engage in sex acts at hotels in both Middlesex and Worcester Counties, promising them, falsely, with large payments for those acts. Worcester and Auburn Police arrested Nicholopoulos and Lowell at a Holiday Inn Express in Auburn on July 15, 2015, after conducting an undercover sting.

Nicholopoulos and Lowell worked together to recruit women through online advertisements to engage in commercial sexual activity at hotels in Auburn, Billerica, Northborough, Westminster and Worcester, an investigation by the AG's Office revealed.

Posting ads for "swingers' parties," they solicited women and promised them payments of $5,000 to $12,000 each for performing sexual acts with multiple men at these events. The women were not allowed to leave the room during the events and were not permitted to tell the men that they were being paid for the sex acts, said the AG.

Authorities allege that Nicholopoulos and Lowell advertised the events as “gangbang parties” to me, charging them to get in. Allegedly, Nicholopoulos and Lowell kept the proceeds and never paid any of the women they had hired. The women recruited by Nicholopolous and Lowell were, in some instances, facing financial difficulties that made them particularly vulnerable to Nicholopoulous’ representations regarding compensation, said a release.

Lowell also allegedly bought sex from several of the women before the events at the hotels and falsely promised to pay them.

Elena Gaston, (a.k.a. “Dana”), 61, of Revere and Carlos Velasquez (a.k.a. “Tony”), age 49, Chelsea, were indicted by a Suffolk Grand Jury on one count each of charges of Trafficking in Persons for Sexual Servitude, Conspiracy to Traffic in Persons for Sexual Servitude, Deriving Support from Prostitution, and Money Laundering. They will be arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court at a later date.

They were charged in connection with trafficking women for sex through an online “escort” service. Gaston was originally arrested Dec. 2, 2015 in Revere by Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Attorney General’s Office with assistance from Revere Police. Velasquez was arrested on Dec. 3, 2015 in Bethel, PA, after Massachusetts State Police obtained a warrant for his arrest.

The AG’s Office began an investigation into “bluemoonescort.com” and “tempu.com,” two websites that advertised sexual “escort” services in the Boston area in exchange for cash. Gaston allegedly owned the websites and operated them as an Internet “escort” business known as “Jaas.inc.”

Allegedly, Gaston arranged meetings between the women and men to provide sexual services. Velasquez allegedly took photos of the women for the websites and allegedly advised them on the expectation that escorts provide sex in exchange for money.

Authorities allege that Gaston and Velasquez profited financially from “Jaas.Inc” and the commercial sexual exploitation of the women, as well as managed the daily financial and logistical aspects of the business.