New York Man Admits Running Drug-Fueled Sex Trafficking Ring in His Parents' Basement
A New York man pleaded guilty Tuesday to operating a sex trafficking ring in the basement of his parents’ home, where he occasionally locked them inside and forced them to use a bucket as a toilet.
Raymond Rodio III, 48, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of sex trafficking, criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, promoting prostitution in the second degree and promoting prostitution in the third degree.
“This is an individual who clearly had no regard for the women he victimized, subjecting them to exploitation, fear and humiliation,” Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy D. Sini said. “It is our hope that this guilty plea delivers justice for the many survivors of Rodio’s scheme.”
Prosecutors accused Rodio of enticing women to the Sound Beach home with heroin and crack cocaine and then forcing them to engage in prostitution in his parents’ basement or at nearby hotels. He would keep either a large percentage or all of the prostitution-related profits.
Rodio had been running the drug-fueled brothel, which involved more than 20 women in their 20s, since 2014.
He set up dates through Backpage and Craigslist.
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Prosecutors said Rodio would occasionally lock some of the women in the basement for extended periods of time and force them to use a bucket as a toilet because the room didn’t have one. The women were unable to escape because the door to the basement had an exterior lock to which Rodio had the only key.
The horrors came to light in August 2018 when Rodio and a woman were stopped by Suffolk County police during a routine traffic stop. “An investigation by the Police Department’s Human Trafficking Investigations Unit revealed evidence that the victim had been forced into sex trafficking by Rodio in the spring of 2018,” said a press release from district attorney’s office.
Rodio is scheduled to be sentenced on March 9. He is expected to be sentenced to nine and a half years in prison and five years of post-release supervision. He will be required to register as a sex offender when he is released from prison.
Rodio’s attorney could not be reached for comment.
