BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Two women and a man are under arrest and facing charges for allegedly running two brothels out of neighboring houses in Framingham.
According to Attorney General Maura Healey's office, Alejandra Arguello-Uribe and Karime Gallon Moreno, both of Framingham, were arrested on Wednesday by Massachusetts State Police and arraigned in Framingham District Court.
Each suspect was charged with one count of Trafficking of Persons for Sexual Servitude, Keeping a House of Ill Fame, and Maintaining a House of Prostitution in connection with a brothel that they allegedly helped operate out of a residence on Melrose Street in Framingham. Both women pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Bail was set at $25,000 cash for Arguello-Uribe and $10,000 cash for Moreno, with the conditions that they surrender their passports and remain in Massachusetts under house arrest. A pre-trial conference is scheduled for October 30.
Samuel Artunduaga Herrera, of Queens, New York, was also arrested in connection with the alleged brothels in Framingham. He was taken into custody Wednesday by the New York Police Department.
Healey said Herrera will be extradited to Massachusetts to be arraigned at a later date on similar charges, after he allegedly operated a brothel out of a home on Henry Street in Framingham in the spring of 2020, before he reportedly fled to New York. The AG’s Office alleges that he also helped to run the Melrose Street brothel.
"During the course of the investigation, authorities developed evidence indicating that Herrera, Arguello-Uribe and Moreno ran a profitable and organized criminal enterprise through two residential brothels in Framingham where they offered sexual activity between victims and buyers in exchange for a fee," said Healey's office.
AG Healey’s Victim Services Division is working with victim service organizations to ensure victims have the assistance and services they need, and the investigation remains ongoing.
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