Man Sentenced In Connection With Human Trafficking In Newton

NEWTON, MA — A Randolph man has been found guilty in connection with human trafficking in Newton, said Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan in a news release.

Dirisu C. Alasa, Jr., 29, was found guilty in connection with operating a business enterprise, repeatedly subjecting a female victim to commercial sexual activity, selling her for sale via internet advertisements, working her around the clock, and forcing her to engage in degrading sexual conduct with customers, Ryan said.

Last week, Judge Janice Howe sentenced Alasa to serve seven years in state prison on the charge of trafficking persons for sexual servitude and a sentence of three to five years on the charge of deriving support from prostitution.

On December 11, 2018, Newton police and members of the the FBI Boston Division’s Child Exploitation – Human Trafficking Task Force executed a human trafficking sting at a Newton Hotel. The Newton Police booked hotel rooms and began using internet advertisements for sexual services to arrange outcall “dates” – meetings for the purposes of sexual services for a fee – with the women in the advertisements.

Police located an advertisement posted on “Megapersonals.com,” to arrange a visit with the victim. Upon arrival the victim was dropped off by the Alasa at the hotel, officials said. She then met with the undercover officer and confirmed a rate of $150 per half hour to perform sexual actions.

Police subsequently located Alasa in his car in the parking lot. In the car, they found the victim’s cellphone, identification and $461 in the glovebox, along with numerous items indicative of the car being used for sex trafficking, Ryan said.

The subsequent investigation revealed that the Alasa was operating a business where he used both of his phones to communicate with customers who responded to the “Megapersonals.com” advertisement for the victim. He would take at least 50 percent of the victim’s money earned from the “dates.”

Investigators also learned that Alasa had begun prostituting the victim around October of 2018 and kept her in the basement of his home in Randolph and in his car, Ryan said. He would drive her to “dates” or have another man in his employ driver her to “dates.” The victim was not permitted to set her own schedule or to leave without the defendant’s permission, and he would threaten her if she did not cooperate with him.

“This case was about power, control, money, and exploitation,” Ryan said in a statement. "To the defendant, the victim was essentially just a commodity- a sexual product to be sold over and over again. He did that over and over again, with no regard for her safety. To combat this type of exploitation it is critical that we continue to work collaboratively as we did here. I am grateful to our law enforcement partners for their work to identify this case and assist the victim in getting out of a dangerous situation.”