Hampton Police Make Human Trafficking Arrest

A local man was arrested last weekend after an investigation into prostitution here in New Hampshire.

Edmund Mitchell (pictured left), 34, of Concord, was arrested on Oct. 24, on one count of trafficking in humans.

According to the Hampton Police Department, earlier this month investigators began looking into “several suspected prostitutes” that were working out of a Hampton area motel and advertising on Backpage.com. Investigators found out that they were residing in the motel with two males who were unknown to police at the time. They later discovered that the men were Mitchell and Reno Demesmin (pictured right), who is still currently at-large.

Police allege that Mitchell and Demesmin “controlled the actions of multiple females who were working as prostitutes through intimidation and drug use,” according to Lt. Dan Gidley of the Hampton Police Department.

Last Friday, investigators from the Concord, Hampton, Hooksett, Manchester, and Portsmouth police departments, along with the probation and parole departments, ICAC, and homeland security, converged on Hooksett and Manchester to serve search and arrest warrants on all involved after it was learned that the pair had moved their operation to the Hooksett and Manchester area.

The agencies seized multiple electronic devices from the Firebird Motel in Hooksett and also arrested another man who was reportedly in the company of the prostitutes, on an unrelated charge. Mitchell was arrested later on an unrelated charge and is being held in the Hillsborough County Jail. He was served the human trafficking charge there.

Mitchell, who is currently on parole, was arraigned on Monday and held on $15,000 cash bail.

Police are looking for tips on where to locate Desemin, who is considered dangerous. He was previously serving time for a first-degree assault charge after stabbing a New Hampton teen in Meredith in 2006 with a screwdriver, according to online news reports. The teen almost died in the attack. Desemin later challenged his conviction. Desemin, who is originally from Florida, was living in the area at the time with a woman and their child.

If you know where Desemin is, contact 603-929-4444. Anonymous tips can be made by visiting https://www.tipsubmit.com and selecting Hamptons as the region or by texting the word “CRIMES” (274637) with the keyword Hamptons. The Crimeline will pay a cash rewards for information leading to the arrest of Demesmin.

Editor’s note: The following post was derived from information supplied by the Hampton Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction. Click this link to find out how to get a name removed from a New Hampshire Patch arrest report.