Man Charged With Human Trafficking in Shrewsbury

Submitted by the Massachusetts State Police:  

A man suspected of prostituting two young women from a hotel in Shrewsbury, was held on $50,000 cash bail today after he was rendited from Connecticut following an investigation by the Massachusetts State Police. The case is being prosecuted by the office of Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early.

Mannes had vacated the motel room, leaving behind all his and the women’s belongings. Based on this and other information, the Massachusetts State Police Special Services Section and the Worcester District Attorney’s Office began an investigation in Mannes.

Simultaneously, the 18-year-old woman who was being trafficked by Mannes escaped from him and went to the Medford Police Department seeking help. Further investigation by state and local police led to information suggesting that Mannes and the second trafficking victim were somewhere in Connecticut. We also developed information suggesting that the second woman, the 20-year-old, was pregnant and in fear for her safety.

Efforts to locate Mannes intensified. We obtained a warrant charging him with trafficking persons for sexual servitude and deriving support from a prostitute. We ultimately developed information that Mannes was at the Niantic Motel in Niantic, CT. We began heading down to the motel while we contacted Connecticut State Police; as CSP officers entered the motel to investigate if Mannes was there, Mannes and the woman ran away from the motel and into a nearby wooded area. After a brief search, they were located, Mannes hiding in a car and the woman in the woods; Mannes was taken into custody an the woman was taken to an area hospital for evaluation.

Shortly after Mannes was taken into custody, he was hospitalized for a period of time.

Upon his release from the hospital, Mannes was arrested as a fugitive from justice on the Massachusetts warrants. He was arraigned in Connecticut as a fugitive from justice, and waived his opposition to rendition. He was returned to Massachusetts yesterday and arraigned today. Mannes was ordered held on $50,000 cash bail at his arraignment today in the Westborough District Court. If he posts bail, he was ordered placed on a GPS bracelet.

The Massachusetts State Police have specially trained investigators dedicated to investigating human trafficking. It is an evil crime. We will aggressively investigate traffickers, interdict their operations, and take them off the streets so they cannot victimize young women. This case is testimony to that.

No further information is being released at this time. We are not releasing the names of the women who were trafficked by Mannes.