LEWISTON — A local man has been charged with sex trafficking after police say they learned he had been putting a woman on the streets, forcing her to service three customers a night at a rate of $100 each.
Investigators say 57-year-old Frederick Jackson subjected the woman to dangerous situations, including one instance where she was jumped by a man on Pierce Street while the woman was two months pregnant. The assault caused the woman to lose the baby, according to a court affidavit.
Police said Jackson is a known member of the Bloods street gang and that, in addition to taking all the woman’s money obtained through prostitution, he regularly assaulted and strangled her.
Jackson, charged with aggravated sex trafficking, was being held at the Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn on $50,000 bail. At the time of his arrest Friday, Jackson was already being held on a separate charge of aggravated domestic assault stemming from an incident at his Lafayette Street home in August.
In the court affidavit, the woman Jackson is accused of forcing into prostitution is listed as C.H. The woman told Lewiston police Officer Josh King that Jackson had been forcing her into prostitution for the past six months, typically in the area of Ash and Pine streets in Lewiston, according to the document.
While she was on the streets, police said, Jackson would contact her through the “Text Now” app, monitoring her behavior and frequently complaining that she was taking too long with customers.
When C.H. was jumped on Pierce Street by a 26-year-old local man and others, the attack was meant as retribution for one of Jackson’s earlier disputes with the man over the sale of crack cocaine, the woman told police.
The alleged assailant, 26-year-old Haji Haji, was ultimately charged with assault for the attack on C.H.
The court affidavit also lists two other incidents during which C.H. was assaulted, once on Aug. 20 at the Denny’s restaurant in Auburn where C.H. said Jackson grabbed her by the throat and then put her in a headlock; and earlier, on June 17, when C.H was reported to be on the ground and was being kicked by at least one assailant.
C.H. told police that Jackson had also forced her to commit a robbery against a man who had failed to pay for sex acts performed by C.H., according to the document.
Lewiston police Officers King and Olivia Bergeron began investigating Jackson’s involvement with C.H. at the start of the month. The officers met with C.H. at a safe house to hear her testimony about Jackson’s role in street prostitution.
The case remains under investigation. Police believe there may be other women who were working for Jackson. They asked anyone with information to contact Officer King at 207-513-3001, extension 6302, or at jking@lewistonmaine.gov.
Jackson is next scheduled to appear in court Dec. 16.
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