PROVIDENCE — Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin announced that Brian Desmarais, of East Providence, pleaded nolo contendere on November 2 before Family Court Judge Michael B. Forte to two counts of sex trafficking of a minor and one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor.

Mr. Desmarais became the third local young man charged in the scheme dating back to earlier this calendar year.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Mr. Desmarais received a certified sentence of 10 years with 19 months plus two days to serve and the remainder suspended with probation.

Mr. Desmarais, 18, will begin his sentence at the Rhode Island Training School until a “modification hearing” takes place at which time a Family Court judge will determine if the sentence should be modified or continued to be served at the Adult Correctional Institution. The modification hearing must be held prior to the 19th birthday of the juvenile. Under certification, Mr. Desmarais is convicted and the sentence will extend into adulthood.

It is alleged that on or about January 16, 2015, Desmarais, who was 17 at the time, co-conspirator Jermaine Wray, 16, of East Providence, and federally indicted co-conspirator Reginald Chaney, 20, of East Providence, conspired together to force two young females, ages 15 and 16, to engage in sex acts for money.  The three men took provocative photographs of the two females and posted the photographs to Backpage.com to solicit sex for money.

It is further alleged that on several occasions between the dates of January 18, 2015, and January 30, 2015, Messrs. Chaney and Wray arranged for meetings between the victims and individuals who responded to advertisements on Backpage.com, offering the victims for the purposes of commercial sexual activity. The meetings allegedly occurred at motels in Seekonk, and at locations in Providence, Warwick, Charlestown and Narragansett.

Messrs. Chaney and Wray were arrested in East Providence by the East Providence Police on January 29, 2015, based on information developed during an investigation conducted by the Providence Police Department with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations. During the course of the investigation, police identified Mr. Desmarais as a co-conspirator. He was arrested on March 6, 2015.

On September 11, Mr. Wray pleaded nolo contendere before Family Court Judge Kathleen A. Voccola to two counts of sex trafficking of a minor, one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor, and one count of felony assault.  Under the terms of the plea agreement, Wray received a certified sentence of 15 years with six years to serve.

Like Mr. Desmarais, Mr. Wray, who was 15 at the time of his arrest, will begin his sentence at the Rhode Island Training School until a “modification hearing” takes place at which time a Family Court judge will determine if the sentence should be modified or continued to be served at the Adult Correctional Institution.  Under certification, Wray is convicted and the sentence will extend into adulthood.

Mr. Chaney is currently being held in Rhode Island state custody as a Superior Court probation violator on a five-year suspended sentence imposed on January 14, 2015, for a weapons charge.  In April 2015, a federal grand jury in Providence returned a six-count indictment Mr. Chaney with conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a child, conspiracy to transport a minor, and two counts each of sex trafficking of a child and transportation of a minor.

“It is unimaginable for two teenage boys to conspire to commit such a heinous act, yet this is not an isolated case,” said Attorney General Kilmartin.  “It is not unheard of for teenagers to engage in this type of criminal behavior, targeting vulnerable peers and forcing them into sexual servitude.  And, easy access to sites like Backpage.com enables them to do so.”

East Providence Police Detective Michael Field, Providence Police Detective Koren Garcia and Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Jodie Donaghy led the investigation. Special Assistant Attorney General Arthur DeFelice prosecuted the case on behalf of the Office of Attorney General. The case against Mr. Chaney is being prosecuted jointly in federal court by Assistant U.S. Attorney Terrence P. Donnelly and Assistant Rhode Island Attorney General Daniel Carr Guglielmo.