Three Lowcountry men were indicted last month for the alleged sex trafficking of three victims, two of them underage, in a “chilling” operation that spanned South Carolina and the upper east coast. Prosecutors from Massachusetts unsealed the case’s court documents in late June, revealing gruesome details in another local example of the often-unreported offense.
The charges of sex trafficking by force, sex trafficking of a minor and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking were brought forward June 18 by a grand jury in Boston:
- Alexander Smalls, 25, of Beaufort County
- Tre’sean Reid, 21, of Beaufort County
- Tyreik Reid, 20, of Allendale, SC
- Avvani Jeffers, 22, of Fall River, MA
- Christy Parker, 26, of Fall River, MA
- Cory Primo, 42, of Fall River, MA
The three defendants from South Carolina — Smalls, Tre’sean Reid and Tyreik Reid — are all brothers, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Massachusetts. Smalls was also Parker’s boyfriend at the time of the alleged crimes.
Smalls, a resident of Seabrook, has a history of gun violence in Beaufort County. He is awaiting trial for a shooting at an Enmarket gas station that hospitalized one man in 2022 and a score of other pending charges, including burglary and attempted murder.
Tre’sean Reid, who also lives in the Seabrook area, is currently a fugitive.
News of the suspects’ indictment comes on the heels of June’s rapid chain of arrests in connection with a separate sex trafficking scheme run out of northern Beaufort County. Federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations were collaborating with local police agencies on the case, although it was not clear if the crimes were part of a larger ring of organized sexual abuse.
Twenty-four total cases of human trafficking were reported last year in South Carolina’s 14th Judicial Circuit, which covers Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper counties, according to reporting from Bluffton Today .
Almost all of the alleged infractions in the Boston case took place in cities and towns along I-95. As the longest north-south highway in the U.S., the interstate provides a “convenient path” to human traffickers as they transport victims across the coast and to larger cities in the northeast.
Trafficked for ‘plays’ from MA to SC
Indictment documents say the scheme started in Boston, where Parker moved into a longtime acquaintance’s house after indicating she was homeless and needed a place to live. She and Smalls allegedly “coerced” the adult woman to quit her job before forcing her to sign a “profit sharing contract,” which required her to “remain loyal and humble and stay focused” while engaging in commercial sex acts that were scheduled and coordinated by the couple.
Smalls and Parker kept all the money gained from the victim’s participation in the sex trafficking scheme, prosecutors say. Parker reportedly used physical violence and threats to maintain control over the female victim, according to the press release.
After Smalls was arrested in March 2023 for the gas station shootout in Beaufort County, Parker took “primary control” of the scheme as it extended into South Carolina. That’s where Tyreik Reid became involved, prosecutors say; he allegedly drove the victim to meetups with men — referred to by the defendants as “plays” — gave her instructions on performing the exchanges and collected earnings from her.
After returning to Boston, Parker is alleged to have recruited Primo and Jeffers to help traffic the victim throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Expanding the crimes to underage victims
Court records say two underage girls were brought into the operation in the latter half of 2023, including a 16-year-old in July and a 17-year-old in August. As punishment for disobedience or mistakes, Parker routinely withheld food from the minor victims and denied them from sleeping, prosecutors allege.
Tre’sean and Tyreik Reid acted as “enforcers” in the scheme beginning in early 2023, according to affidavits field by a special agent from Homeland Security Investigations. To ensure obedience from the victims, Parker regularly tasked the brothers with threatening the victims over the phone and in-person with firearms.
The group allegedly recruited more victims as the year progressed. In a jail call to Smalls, who was still in custody in Beaufort County, Parker allegedly advised she “got another girl,” making a “total of four,” according to her cellphone records that were obtained by authorities.
How were they caught?
Police became aware of the operation on August 29, 2023, when one of the underage victims made a tearful call to her social worker: She had been forced into commercial sex for months, the girl said, and was currently being held against her will in a hotel room in Somerset, MA.
Parker was arrested at the scene as police executed a search warrant on the suspects’ two hotel rooms, recovering at least four women and girls who were suspected victims of sex trafficking. The other suspects, excluding Tre’sean Reid, were detained in the following months.
“The allegations in this case are truly chilling,” wrote Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy in the press release. “It is hard to conceive of more vile conduct than what is set forth in these charges. Sex trafficking is not a distant problem — it is happening right here, in our neighborhoods, and often goes unnoticed or unreported.”
The group’s federal charges of sex trafficking by force, sex trafficking of a minor and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking are all punishable by up to life in prison. All six defendants will be prosecuted in Massachusetts’ district court.
Most Popular
Comments / 0