Pimp Jailed After Exploiting Prostitutes: 'Ugly Reality'

BOSTON, MA - A Dorchester pimp was sent to state prison after admitting to selling two women for sexual services in a downtown hotel room, the Suffolk District Attorney said Thursday.

One of the women died of a drug overdose in the lead-up to the trial, the DA said.

The DA said Rashaun Hendren, 23, lured in one drug-addicted woman with offers of money and drugs in 2014. He used the first victim to recruit a second woman who was also battling a drug addiction, according to the DA.

Hendren solicited the women to johns he met through online ads, the DA said. He reportedly kept all of the money for himself but discouraged the two victims from leaving by bribing them with drugs and beating them.

“This is the ugly reality that lies behind ads on the web sites that serve as platforms for prostitution,” Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said in a statement. “It’s a reality of violence and addiction, and it’s not a victimless crime.”

One of the victims fled from Hendren in April and notified Boston police officers of the abuse.

Hendren was initially indicted for human trafficking but prosecutors accepted his pleas to deriving support from prostitution because of changes to the nature of evidence after one of the victims passed away.

Hendren was sentenced to to four to five years in state prison – the term recommended by prosecutors. The charge carries a maximum term of five years.

Photo via Suffolk District Attorney