Hyde Park Man Sentenced To More Than 10 Years In Sex Trafficking Case

BOSTON – A Hyde Park man was sentenced today for transporting a woman from Massachusetts to New Jersey, Vermont and Pennsylvania for the purpose of prostituting her.

Darrell B. Graham, a/k/a Diamond, 52, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 150 months in prison, five years of supervised release, and $58,403 in restitution. In April 2014, Graham pleaded guilty to transporting a woman to engage in prostitution.

Graham promised a vulnerable, 19-year-old victim money and dreams of a better life. Instead, Graham took the victim’s identification documents, posted her picture on the Internet, instructed her to cut ties with her family and friends, and for the next two months prostituted her in hotel rooms in several states. Graham never paid the victim, and instead coerced her to engage in commercial sex through a scheme that included placing her in fear by using violence and threats of violence. Graham ultimately pleaded guilty to transporting the victim from Massachusetts to New Jersey on Aug. 18, 2011, from Massachusetts to Vermont on Sept. 19, 2011, and from Massachusetts to Pennsylvania on Sept. 24, 2011 for the purpose of engaging in prostitution.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. The case was prosecuted by Kristina E. Barclay and S. Theodore Merritt of Ortiz’s Civil Rights Enforcement Team.