E. Providence Man Gets 10 Years in Federal Prison for Sex Trafficking Minors
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Reginald Chaney, 21, of East Providence was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison on Wednesday for conspiring to transport minors for the purpose of sex trafficking.
At the sentencing, U.S. District Court Judge John McConnell Jr. also ordered Chaney to serve 5 years supervised release upon completion of his prison term.
Chaney admitted on May 10 that in January of 2015, he conspired with two juveniles to transport two girls, ages 15 and 16 to motels in Seekonk and to locations in Providence, Warwick, Charlestown and Narragansett for the purpose of sex trafficking.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“Make no mistake, this defendant preyed on children with one motivation – making money. He sold children for sex, plain and simple. Nothing is more reprehensible, and he deserves every day of his ten year sentence. Yet my thoughts today are less than with him than with his victims, who have shown such courage in the face of such despicable conduct. It is my hope that, with ongoing support from our many non-governmental partners, they can continue to rebuild their promising young lives,” said U.S. Attorney Peter Neronha.
The Investigation
According to information presented to the court, on January 28, 2015, Providence Police responded to Hasbro Childrens’ Hospital for a report of sexual exploitation offenses involving a 16 year-old girl.
As a result of information provided to the officers, and a subsequent investigation by Providence Police and Homeland Security Investigations, law enforcement learned that on January 16, 2015, Chaney and two juvenile males conspired to take photographs of the 16 year-old girl and a 15 year-old girl in various stages of undress, and posted the photos on Backpage.com.
Between January 16 and January 28, 2015, Chaney and the two juvenile males conspired to transport the teenage girls from Chaney’s East Providence residence to locations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island for the purpose of offering the girls for prostitution.
Chaney was arrested by East Providence Police on January 29, 2015, and ordered detained in state custody as a Superior Court probation violator on a 5-year suspended sentence imposed on January 14, 2015, on a weapons charge.
Additional Arrests
Two juvenile men from East Providence identified as co-conspirators were arrested on January 29, 2015, and prosecuted in Family Court by the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office.
Brian Desmarais, who was 17 at the time of his arrest, pleaded nolo contendere on November 2, 2015, to two counts of sex trafficking of a minor and one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Desmarais received a certified sentence of 10 years with 19 months plus two days to serve, the remainder suspended with probation. He is serving his sentence at the Rhode Island Training School until a “modification hearing” takes place at which time a Family Court judge will determine if the sentence should be modified or continued to be served at the Adult Correctional Institution.
The second juvenile, J’Maire Wray, who was 15 at the time of his arrest, pleaded nolo contendere before Family Court Judge Kathleen A. Voccola to two counts of sex trafficking of a minor, one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor, and one count of felony assault. Under the terms of a plea agreement, Wray received a sentence of 15 years, with six years to serve.
Under certification, both Desmarais and Wray are convicted and their sentences will extend into adulthood.
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