LI Man Ran Human Trafficking Operation From Parents' Basement: DA

SOUND BEACH, NY - A Sound Beach mean was indicted on Thursday for conducting a human trafficking operating out of the basement of his parents' house since 2014, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy D. Sini.

Raymond Rodio III, 47, was charged with seven counts of sex trafficking, one count of sex trafficking (violent felony), one count of second degree promoting prostitution, one count of third degree promoting prostitution, and four counts of fourth degree promoting prostitution, the DA said.

"This is a dangerous and depraved individual," Sini said. "He kept women locked up in the basement of his parents’ house, using the basement as a dungeon. He preyed on women using their vulnerabilities and their drug dependencies to maintain his control over them. With this indictment, we are putting an end to his criminal operation and his victimization of over 20 women."

In August 2018, the Suffolk Police identified a suspected victim of human trafficking during a routine traffic stop.

An investigation by the Human Trafficking Investigations Unit revealed evidence that the victim had allegedly been forced into sex trafficking by Rodio in the spring of 2018, the DA said.

Further investigation by the Human Trafficking team found that Rodio was trafficking women out of the basement of his parents’ home on Lower Rocky Point Road in Sound Beach since 2014, the DA said.

The investigation identified more than 20 victims of Rodio’s alleged sex trafficking operation, the DA said.

Rodio would allegedly post advertisements on websites, including Backpage and Craigslist, promoting prostitution by the victims and would keep either a large percentage or all of the profits of their prostitution, the DA said.

The investigation also found evidence that Rodio would allegedly occasionally keep victims in the basement for extended periods of time and force them to use a bucket as a toilet because the basement does not have a bathroom, the DA said. The door to the basement has an exterior lock to which Rodio had the only key.

In addition to the house, he also allegedly forced the victims to perform prostitution at various motels across Suffolk, the DA said.

He is alleged to have used threats of violence to force victims to continue engaging in prostitution on his behalf as well as provided his victims with heroin and crack cocaine before prostituting them to impair their judgment, the DA said.

"This creates a vicious cycle that is extremely difficult for victims to break," Sini said. "That is precisely why my office and the Suffolk County Police Department have shifted the paradigm in how we deal with these cases. We treat the women as victims, because they are."

The Suffolk County Police Department’s Narcotics Section, in conjunction with the Human Trafficking Investigations Unit, also began an investigation into alleged drug dealing by Rodio which resulted in him additionally being charged with five counts of third degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, the DA said.

"This man preyed on vulnerable women, using threats and drugs to manipulate them for his own financial gain," Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said.

Rodio was arraigned on the indictment in connection with the alleged human trafficking operation on Thursday by Suffolk County Acting Supreme Court Justice Fernando Camacho.

Bail was set at $1 million cash or $2 million bond. He is due back in court on May 21.

If convicted of the top count, Rodio faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.

"Ending human trafficking is a top priority of this administration," Sini said. "The horrors of human trafficking in Suffolk County must end and this case is a prime example of why we are focused on this issue."