Second Trafficker of Massachusetts Woman Sentenced to Prison

PROVIDENCE – Kedwin Vargas, 26, of Roxbury, MA, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Providence, RI, to 60 months in federal prison for trafficking a female from Massachusetts to Rhode Island for the purpose of prostitution.

At sentencing, U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., also ordered Vargas to serve 3 years supervised release upon completion of his prison term. Vargas pleaded guilty on December 8, 2016, to transportation with the intent to prostitute.

The government and the defendant recommended to the court that a sentence of 60 months of incarceration be imposed. The U.S. Sentencing Guideline range in this matter is 51 to 63 months of incarceration.

Vargas’ sentence is announced by Acting United States Attorney Stephen G. Dambruch; Colonel Ann C. Assumpico, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police; and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division.

At time of his guilty plea, Vargas admitted to the court that between January 2015 and March 2016, he met a female he knew to be engaged in prostitution, and did aid and abet her in carrying out that endeavor by, among other things, driving her from Massachusetts to appointments with customers in Rhode Island; holding cash she collected from her prostitution activities; and by profiting directly and indirectly from her activity.

Vargas has been detained in federal custody since his arrest on May 19, 2016.

A co-defendant in this matter, Rene Anthony Laureano, 31, of Roxbury, MA, was sentenced on June 21, 2017, to 24 months in federal prison. Laureano pleaded guilty on March 7, 2017, to transportation with the intent to prostitute.

The was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William J. Ferland.

Acting United States Attorney Stephen G. Dambruch thanks the Warwick, R.I., and Boston Police Departments for their assistance in the investigation of this matter.

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