(WHDH)– A Randolph man has been sentenced to seven years in state prison after he was found guilty of running a human trafficking operation.

Dirisu C. Alasa, Jr., 29, was convicted last week on charges of trafficking of persons for sexual servitude and deriving support from prostitution after he was arrested in a sting operation in December of 2018, according to a release issued by Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Newton Chief of Police John Carmichael.

On December 11, 2018, an undercover Newton police officer booked a hotel room and met with a woman they say offered them sexual services for a fee of $150.

Alasa Jr. was found sitting in his car in the hotel parking lot with the victim’s cellphone, identification and $461 in the glovebox, along with numerous items officials say were indicative of the car being used for sex trafficking.

Investigators said Alasa Jr. had begun prostituting the victim around October of 2018 and kept her in the basement of his home and in his car. He or another man in his employ would drive her to “dates” and the victim was not permitted to set her own schedule or to leave without Alasa Jr.’s permission.

They said he would threaten her if she did not cooperate with him and he would take at least 50 percent of her earnings.

“This case was about power, control, money, and exploitation. To the defendant, the victim was essentially just a commodity- a sexual product to be sold over and over again. He did that over and over again, with no regard for her safety,” said District Attorney Ryan.

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