By Le Floridien Staff
MALDEN, Mass. — A disturbing human-trafficking case in a Boston suburb has led to the arrest of 29-year-old Jordende Pierre, who prosecutors accuse of holding a woman against her will for approximately six weeks inside the unfinished attic of a multifamily home.
Pierre was arrested on September 24 in Malden during an operation involving the U.S. Marshals Service, Massachusetts State Police, the FBI and Malden Police. He faces charges including trafficking a person for sexual servitude, kidnapping, and indecent assault and battery. He has pleaded not guilty and was ordered held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing.
The allegations against Pierre have not been proven in court, and he is presumed innocent unless and until convicted.
A water leak leads to disturbing discovery
The case came to light on September 20 when the property owner and her husband went to the Summer Street residence to investigate a water leak.
According to local reporting, tenants initially prevented the couple from accessing certain areas of the property. When they eventually reached the unfinished attic, they discovered a woman living in disturbing conditions. Police were called to the residence.
Authorities said the woman appeared malnourished and was found lying on a mat. A bucket that had apparently been used as a toilet was also found nearby.
The landlord told NBC10 Boston that Pierre was not one of her registered tenants and that she did not know anyone was living in the attic. The discovery ultimately led authorities to remove the woman from the property and reunite her with her family.
What initially appeared to be a routine visit to investigate a water problem had uncovered what prosecutors allege was a weeks-long case of captivity and sexual exploitation.
Prosecutors allege captivity and sexual exploitation
According to prosecutors and a police report obtained by the Boston Globe, the woman told investigators that she had met Pierre through the dating app Tinder approximately six weeks earlier. Pierre allegedly picked her up from a rehabilitation facility and brought her to the Malden residence.
Authorities allege that Pierre provided the woman with drugs, sexually assaulted her and arranged sexual encounters between her and other men, keeping money connected to those encounters.
Investigators also allege that Pierre took steps to prevent the woman from leaving. Prosecutors said the attic door handle could be removed and that Pierre allegedly took it off when he left, making it difficult for her to escape. The woman also reportedly told investigators that she sometimes went days without food.
According to the Boston Globe, the woman told investigators that some conversations between Pierre and other men appeared to be conducted in Haitian Creole, which she did not understand. That detail, however, does not by itself establish Pierre’s nationality or ethnicity.
