Crime & Safety

Sharon Man Arraigned After Online Sex Trade Sting

Five men in total were arraigned on Wednesday, while a warrant was issued for a sixth man, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's office.

Editor's Note: The following information was provided by a press release from the Suffolk County District Attorney's office. All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Ali Hassan Houdroge, a 46-year-old Sharon resident, was one of five men who were arraigned after their arrests by Boston Police in a sting targeting the demand for sexual services from girls under 18, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said in an announcement Wednesday. A warrant was issued for a sixth man, as well.

The following other defendants, including Houdroge, were arrested throughout Tuesday afternoon and evening by Boston Police detectives assigned to the Human Trafficking Division and other specialized units, according to the announcement. 

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Arrested were:

  • Ali Hassan Houdroge, 46, of Sharon
  • Michael Paquette, 30, of Somerville
  • Richard McIver, 46, of Brockton
  • Michael Feeney, 20, of Quincy

All four are charged with seeking sex for a fee, which carries a maximum of one year in a house of correction, and enticement of a person under 18, which carries up to five years in state prison, according to the DA's office. 

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Assistant District Attorney Katherine Powell Lubitz recommended bails ranging from personal recognizance to $1,000 and asked that all of the defendants be ordered to stay away from the area of their arrest. Judge Tracy Lee Lyons released each on his own recognizance but imposed the stay-away order.

Meanwhile, William Barlow, 40, of Allston/Brighton was arrested Tuesday and arraigned on Wednesday. He is also charged with sex for a fee and enticing a person under 18.

Based on Barlow's prior record, which includes 2008 convictions and jail time for assault and battery, indecent assault and battery, and criminal harassment, Assistant District Attorney Justine Miller recommended that he be held on $5,000 cash bail, according to the DA announcement. Judge Lyons set bail at $1,000 and ordered him to stay away from the area of his arrest. 

Robert Anzalone, 44, of Bellingham, failed to appear at his arraignment on Wednesday and Lyons issued a warrant for his arrest, according to the DA's announcement.

From the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office:

Boston Police officers posing online as females under the age of 18 were contacted by each of the defendants throughout Tuesday afternoon and evening. Each defendant agreed to meet the officers – whom they believed to be a teenage girl – at and around a downtown hotel to exchange cash for various sex acts.

The defendants each described the clothing he would wear and provided his phone number. When officers spotted the defendants, they moved in and called the given phone number. Each defendant’s phone rang when called by police, and each defendant was taken into custody. 

“Reducing human trafficking also means reducing demand,” Conley said in a statement Wednesday. “Anyone who considers buying sex – especially from an underage girl or boy – should remember the physical and emotional damage that are part and parcel of commercial sexual exploitation. If that’s not enough, they should also remember that the person on the other end of that email or text message could very well be a Boston Police officer.”

Anyone who suspects human trafficking or commercial sexual exploitation of children, and anyone victimized by those offenses, is urged to contact the Family Justice Center of Boston at 617-779-2100. Located at 989 Commonwealth Ave. in Brighton, the FJC is a “one-stop shop” that brings together Boston Police, Suffolk prosecutors, and a broad array of social service providers for the victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, commercial sexual exploitation, and child abuse.


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