Five Men Indicted In Rockland Hotel Sex Trafficking Sting

ROCKLAND, MA — Five men from Massachusetts were indicted on human trafficking charges following a sting operation out of a Rockland hotel, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said Monday.

Brian Dick, 49, of Abington, Viet Hung Nguyen, 46, of Brockton, Brendan Garafalo, 26, of Lakeville, Eric VanRiper, 38, of Pembroke, and James Bi, 35, of Wakefield were each indicted by a Plymouth County grand jury on one count of trafficking of a person for sexual servitude for a fee.

According to a press release from the DA's Office, each pleaded not guilty to a single charge of trafficking a person for sexual servitude and was released on personal recognizance.

In early August, police organized a setup online, posting a commercial sex advertisement posing as a female escort and using a Rockland hotel as the backdrop to meet up.

From 8 p.m. to midnight on Aug. 5, the five men contacted the undercover officer separately and arranged to meet up at the hotel and exchange sexual acts for money.

The undercover cop gave the men a specific room number in the hotel, and once they arrived in the room, they were arrested.

The DA's Office says the five men are due back to be arraigned on the human trafficking charge in superior court at a later date.

Patrick Noonan, a defense attorney for one of the accused men says this case was litigated and is filing a motion to dismiss the case for insufficient evidence in superior court. The attorney says the particular "sex trafficking" label should not apply to this particular case, as it was more of a prostitution incident than human trafficking.

The DA's Office wants to thank the Rockland Police Department, Plymouth County Sheriff's Department, Boston Police Human Trafficking Task Force, Massachusetts State Police High-Risk Victims Unit, and members of other various state police units for helping to crack down on the demand for commercial sexual exploitation in and around Plymouth County.