SHREWSBURY, MA — A Shrewsbury man was among three charged with human trafficking in Salem last week.
Barry St. Onge, 64, and two men from Peabody, were charged with trafficking of a person for sexual servitude, deriving support from prostitution and keeping a house of prostitution, police said. This comes after a three-month-long investigation into several businesses in Salem that advertised as “bodywork,” “reflexology,” and “spa” services.
On Apr. 17, detectives extended multiple search warrants at New Custom Body Work at 133 Boston St., and Red Rose Reglexology at 116A Boston St., accoridng to police.
The Salem Police Criminal Investigation Division said it conducted an extensive investigation into the suspected human trafficking and prostitution-related activities at the businesses in the city.
Human trafficking involves the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of individuals for the purposes of forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation, accoridng to SPD. Perpetrators engage in these criminal enterprises to profit from the exploitation of victims.
Police said individuals involved in the situations are regarded as victims and treated accordingly through the investigative process.
As a result of the investigation, the three suspects were arrested, including Onge, 57-year-old Peter Leavitt and 52-year-old Fang Liu.
The investigation was conducted with the assistance of several partner agencies, including the Massachusetts State Police Human Trafficking Division within the State Attorney General’s Office, the Essex County District Attorney’s Office and the Essex County Sheriff’s Department.
"We see this as much a rescue operation as it is a criminal investigation," Salem Police Chief Lucas Miller said. "The exploitation of victims of human trafficking will not be tolerated in the city of Salem.”
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