One of two men charged with sex trafficking after police raided an alleged brothel at 2874 West River Road in Sidney pleaded guilty Monday in Kennebec County Superior Court in Augusta.
Frederick Harry Horne Jr., 20, was fined $1,000 for the misdemeanor offense, which occurred April 10 in Sidney, and his attorney Darrick Banda said afterward that he had no comment to make on the case.
Additional Images
Horne and his father, Frederick H. Horne Sr., were both charged after the raid at which a half-dozen women were found at the home, which allegedly was the site of Adam & Eve Escort Service. The raid on the home followed a two-year investigation by police and a spate of complaints to police by neighbors and an eviction by a previous landlord in North Belgrade. The women found at the home were not charged.
The elder Horne, now 47, is charged with three counts of sex trafficking, all between Feb. 10 and April 10 and one count each of unlawful possession of oxycodone and unlawful trafficking of marijuana, both April 10, in Winthrop. He has pleaded not guilty and those charges remain pending.
The morning after the raid, Horne Sr. said in an interview what he was doing wasn’t wrong, and he denied that any of the women at the residence were there against their will. He said Adam & Eve was a legitimate and legal escort service.
“These girls are like my family,” Horne said at the time, adding that 12 to 15 women had stayed at the house at different times.
Several other people were sentenced Monday in separate hearings at Kennebec County Superior Court:
• Tina M. Berube, violation of condition of release and two counts of violation of protective from harassment order Aug. 15 in Winslow; $250 fine, 24-hour jail sentence, credit for time served.
• Garrett T. Brown, 20, of South China, criminal mischief Feb. 4-6 in Augusta; 10-day jail sentence to be served in the alternative sentencing program.
• Joseph P. Long II, 24, of Lisbon Falls, trafficking in heroin May 30 in West Gardiner; seven years in prison, all but 18 months suspended, three years of probation, $400 fine, $400 restitution.
Betty Adams — 621-5631
Twitter: @betadams
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.