AUGUSTA — A Randolph woman who prosecutors say employed prostitutes at “Sarah’s Place” in Litchfield pleaded guilty Thursday to two charges involving sex trafficking over a period of more than 20 months.
Gretchen L. Patrick, 52, pleaded guilty in the Kennebec County Superior Court case to attempted aggravated sex trafficking, a felony charge, and to sex trafficking, a misdemeanor.
A charge of aggravated sex trafficking was dismissed by the prosecutor during Thursday’s hearing. That charge indicated Patrick promoted prostitution of a girl who was 17 at some point between July 31, 2012, and April 10, 2014. Defense attorney Brad Grant said it was dismissed because the girl named in the complaint had been emancipated from parental control and so was not considered a minor.
The replacement charge, the prosecutor told the judge, says Patrick forced a woman to engage in prostitution to repay a debt for Suboxone that Patrick was supplying to her.
While Patrick pleaded guilty to the felony, she was placed on deferred disposition for 18 months with the understanding that if she successfully meets all the requirements, she can withdraw the guilty plea and see the felony charge dismissed.
Conditions of the deferral require that Patrick stay out of criminal trouble and prohibit her from possession and use of alcohol, illegal drugs, and from contact with the three women who police say worked as prostitutes. Patrick also must pay $140 restitution.
For the misdemeanor offense, which occurred in the same time period in Augusta, Patrick is to be sentenced on Aug. 13, 2015.
Justice Michaela Murphy agreed to impose a five-month sentence jointly recommended by the prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Frayla Schoenfeld, and by Grant. However, Murphy rejected the proposal that it be imposed Thursday, saying it was too long a time for a stay. Grant said Patrick hopes to serve the sentence in the fall in the Kennebec County jail’s Criminogenic Addiction and Recovery Academy otherwise known as the CARA program.
Patrick said little during the hearing. She told the judge, “I’m guilty,” but disputed some statements made by Schoenfeld as she listed the evidence the state had.
The judge asked, “Do you agree that you compelled (the woman) to do this for drugs?”
Patrick responded, “Yes.”
The charges resulted from an April 10, 2014, police search of Patrick’s residence on Lewiston Road in Litchfield. Maine State Police seized five used condoms from the kitchen trash, sex and drug paraphernalia from a bedroom and bathroom, cellphones of three women and a list of work hours, names and numbers.
Schoenfeld said Detective Christopher Tupper seized a number of items, including ads on the classified advertising website Backpage.com. Those ads featured “Sarah’s” and “Sarah’s Place” offering “prettiest girls in the Central Maine area” and “unhurried and unforgettable adult entertainment” as well as a help wanted ad. One of the ads showed photos of clothed women with their faces cropped out.
The raid was the culmination of a two-year investigation into an alleged prostitution ring. The trail began in Augusta after police received a tip through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that Patrick was running a brothel at 120 Northern Ave., Augusta.
City police set up surveillance in that area in July 2012 and saw men leaving that address but could not determine the exact apartment. Later investigators were told Patrick had moved to Litchfield.
On the same day Patrick’s Litchfield residence was raided, so was a Purinton Avenue, Augusta, home where Patrick also had been living.
“The allegation that a 17-year old was involved is what gave me an enormous amount of concern and caused me to think we needed to act quickly,” District Attorney Maeghan Maloney said shortly after the raid. The state alleged that Patrick is head of the prostitution ring and anticipated felony charges if certain aggravating factors were present.
Those factors included having a prostitute who is less than 18 years old, requiring someone to work as a prostitute to pay off a debt, or using coercion and threats to force someone to work as a prostitute.
At Thursday’s hearing, a charge against Patrick of unlawful possession of cocaine on April 10, 2014, in Litchfield was also dismissed.
Betty Adams — 621-5631
Twitter: @betadams
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