Worcester Couple Sentenced to 18 Years for Sex Trafficking

WORCESTER – A local married couple received a sentence of 18 years in prison on Jan. 23, after a jury found the pair guilty of sex trafficking in September.

The office of U.S. District Attorney of the District of Massachusetts Leah Foley announced the sentencing on Wednesday, Feb. 4.

Kiersten Soto, 32, and Moises Soto, 33, both of Worcester, received a guilty verdict on single counts of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion. The jury also found Kiersten Soto guilty of a single count of traveling or using interstate facilities to promote unlawful activities,

According to federal prosecutors, the Sotos used a website to advertise an individual as a commercial sex worker. From February to May 2022, they used force, fraud and coercion to traffic the victim for commercial sex in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Law enforcement arrested the couple in December 2022.

Prosecutors also said that Kiersten Soto often threatened violence against the victim, abandonment and involuntary commitment to a facility. Moises Soto used extreme physical violence, including beatings, assaults with wooden dowel rods and choking if the victim failed to make enough money.

A video found on the phone of one of the Sotos showed them cornering the victim in their home, threatening her, berating her, and calling her a snitch. The victim suffered agonizing drug withdrawal at the time of the recorded incident, according to prosecutors.

Along with 18 years in prison, the Sotos also face five years of supervised release, a $5,000 fine, and restitution to the victim of $138,000.

Worcester City Manager Amends Policy on Interaction with ICE

WORCESTER – City Manager Eric Batista issued an executive order on Wednesday, Feb. 4, that amends the order he issued in May related to the city’s response to and interaction with federal immigration enforcement.

“The City of Worcester is watching the horrific events play out across the country as ICE continues to wreak havoc on communities with no regard for humanity, and I want to reaffirm the policy in place for how our municipality is to interact with federal agents,” said City Manager Eric D. Batista. The City of Worcester celebrates and welcomes all of its residents, including our vibrant immigration population, and will stand united to ensure we remain a welcoming and inclusive city for all.”

The amended executive order includes four new provisions to its police, which are effective immediately.

• The municipality prohibits use of its property, including open space, parking lots, garages, parks, or buildings, including the interior or exterior areas of any parcel upon which a building is located, for staging and prepping of federal civil immigration enforcement actions. Prohibited uses include but are not limited to assembling, mobilizing, or deploying vehicles, equipment, materials, or personnel for the purpose of carrying out federal civil immigration enforcement operations.
• The municipality shall not enter into any 287(g) agreements.
• When responding to calls related to ICE activity, the WPD shall take reasonable steps to verify that the individuals on scene are federal agents and gather relevant information.
• Any footage captured on WPD body-worn cameras of federal agents engaged in a civil immigration enforcement shall be made publicly available.

Prohibiting federal agents from using municipal property is a tactic used in other cities.cities. Providence Mayor Breatt Smiley issued a similar orderl on Jan. 20

The executive order Batista issued in May established the following policies:

• Municipal employees and WPD officers shall not inquire about immigration status nor shall immigration status impact the treatment of a resident, victim, suspect, arrestee, 911 caller, or another member of the public with whom a municipal employee has contact.
• WPD shall not initiate investigations or take law enforcement action solely on the basis of immigration status, including without limitation, the initiation of a stop, an apprehension, or arrest. No person will be arrested or held by the WPD solely on the basis of a federal civil immigration detainer, including extending the length of detention by any amount of time once an individual is released from local custody, or before being transferred to court or admitted to bail.
• WPD will not assist any agency for matters solely based on civil federal immigration enforcement.
• Municipal employees will not allow ICE agents access to records, information, or non-public areas of municipal buildings for the enforcement of federal civil immigration laws.
• Employees must report ICE agents at any municipal building.

Milbury Officer Wounded, Suspect Dead in Shooting in Spencer

SPENCER – The office of Worcester County District Attorney Joe Early Jr. says that Massachusetts State Police detectives are investigating multiple shootings that left a Millbury Police officer wounded and a suspect dead.

At around 5 PM, on Tuesday, Feb. 3, Spencer police responded to 20 Main St. in response to a 911 call. Upon arriving at the scene, officers located an individual who appeared to be suffering from a gunshot wound. That person received transport to UMass Medical Center.

Spencer officers located a man who matched the description of the suspect in that shooting near West Main Street in Spencer. When officers approached the man, later identified as Patrick Madison, 35, he produced a firearm. Shots were fired.

Madison fled into a nearby Family Dollar store

Spencer officers evacuated the store and surrounding businesses and requested support from state police. State police responded with the  Central Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (CEMLEC) negotiator, SWAT Unit, Drone Unit, K-9 Unit, and the State Police Air Wing Unit.

CEMLEC SWAT officers entered the store and located Madison in a closed bathroom. An exchange of gunfire led to the Millbury officer’s injuries and the death of Madison.

The injured officer is reportedly in stable condition. Early’s office did not release his name or additional information about him.

The investigation into the incident remains ongoing.

Anyone with information related to this incident is encouraged to contact the Massachusetts State Police Detectives assigned to the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office at (508) 453-7536.

Mass. AG Sues Holden, 8 Other Municipalities

BOISTON – Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced she filed a lawsuit in state court on Thursday, Jan. 29, against Holden, Dracut, East Bridgewater, Halifax, Marblehead, Middleton, Tewksbury, Wilmington, and Winthrop for noncompliance with the MBTA Communities Law.

Of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts, the law applies to 177 municipalities. The eight named in the lawsuit are the last out of compliance with the law.

The law requires these municipalities to have a zoning ordinance or by-law that provides for at least 1 district of reasonable size in which multi-family housing is permitted as of right.

The law, signed by then-Governor Baker in 2021, aims to address the housing shortage across the state.

MBTA Communities includes those municipalities that host MBTA service or abut a city that hosts MBTA service. Other locations have been added as an MBTA Community under additional state law.

The law aims to encourage multi-family development near public transit, making travel to jobs, schools, shops, and other locations more accessible.

Campbell’s lawsuit seeks a court order for these last eight communities to comply.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the law in January 2025, deciding that all MBTA Communities must comply with it.

See the Neighborhood Meetings This Week in Worcester

WORCESTER – The Worcester Police Department is encouraging residents to attend their neighborhood watch meetings to stay up-to-date on what’s happening in their neighborhoods and to share any concerns or questions they may have. Representatives from the city also regularly attend these neighborhood meetings.

There are over 50 Neighborhood Watch Groups in Worcester. Meetings are held regularly — often once a month in various locations in the city.

Contact the Worcester Police Department’s Neighborhood Response Team at (508) 799-8664 for more information.

Here are the neighborhood meetings this week in Worcester.

Monday, Feb. 2

• Green Island Neighborhood Meeting, 42 Quinsigamond Ave. – 6 PM

Thursday, Feb. 5

• Lincoln Village Neighborhood Meeting, Victoria Building, 116 Country Club Blvd – 4 PM
• Webster Square Neighborhood Meeting, Our Lady of Angels Church, 1222 Main St. – 7 PM

Former State Senator Sentenced to Additional Federal Prison Time

BOSTON -A federal judge sentenced former Massachusetts State Senator Dean Tran, of Fitchburg, to additional prison time on Friday, Jan. 30. The sentence will add one month to Tran’s current sentence.

Tran is currently serving an 18-month sentence in federal prison for charges related to the fraudulent collection of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits and omitting consulting and rental income from his tax returns from 2020 to 2022. A federal jury convicted him on those charges in September 2024.

In December 2025, Tran pleaded guilty to single counts of both obstruction of justice and making a false statement.

U.S. Senior District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV sentenced Tran to 12 months in prison, with 11 months to run concurrently with his current sentence. Tran will also subject to 18 months of supervised release, all of which runs concurrently with his current sentence.

Tran served as the state senator of the Worcester and Middlesex senate district from 2017 to 2021. That district includes Fitchburg, Gardner, Leominster, Berlin, Bolton, Lancaster, Lunenburg, Sterling, Townsend, and Clinton.

Worcester School Committee Debates AI Privacy Policies

WORCESTER – The Worcester School Committee is delving into the battle over privacy policies as artificial intelligence (AI) applications become standard use in classrooms across the United States.

The school committee’s Standing Committee on Teaching, Learning, and Student Success will take up two related items on Thursday, Jan. 29, that call for updates to school district polices “to require explicit consent from parents/guardians when a third party service wants to use personal information collected from students to train or otherwise develop artificial intelligence technologies.”

The second item calls for policies for explicit consent “parents/guardians before a third party service collects any data that could be a
biometric identifier, such as audio recordings, photographs, and/or video.”

The administration of the Superintendent of Worcester Public Schools (WPS) Brian Allen appears ready to argue that such a policy is not required.

According to a memo to the school committee, attached to the agenda for the standing committee meeting, current policy “mandates that every app or tool we approve for use in Worcester Public Schools must meet strict data privacy and safety standards. These standards are ensured by executing legally binding Student Data Privacy Agreements.” The memo says these agreements are in compliance with federal and state law.

If a third-party vendor won’t sign that agreement, WPS will not do business with that company, except in rage cases, according to the memo.

In rare cases, including courses with special requirements aligned to industry standards such as CTE, career-prep, and/or industry recognized credentials (FERPA),” the WPS “will ask for explicit parental consent before using the product”

The Standing Committee on Teaching, Learning, and Student Success meets at 5 PM at City Hall on Jan. 29. The meeting is also available via Zoom.

Study Shows Childcare Out of Reach for Most Families

WORCESTER – A new study by Lending Tree shows how out of reach affording childcare is for most families in Massachusetts.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services set a benchmark that child care is affordable for a family when it costs no more than seven percent of income. In Massachusetts, the average annual child care for two children costs $47,012.

To spend seven percent of income on childcare, a family in Massachusetts must have an income of $671,600. That’s 246.8 percent over the average income of $191,671 for a family with two children in the state, according to Lending Tree.

The difference nationwide is smaller, but still largely out of reach. Full-time, center-based care for an infant and 4-year-old averages $28,190 annually. That is 176.5 percent more than the average income for households with two kids, $145,656.

Lending Tree found that Native American families earn $94,094 and Black families earn $98,019. That means they need to earn 328% and 310.8% more, respectively, to meet the seven percent benchmark.

See the full Lending Tree study here.

Mini-Grants Applications for Worcester Teachers Now Open

WORCESTER – The Worcester Educational Development Foundation (WEDF) announced it has opened applications for 20 mini-grants for Worcester Public Schools educators.

The round of grants coincides with WEDF’s 20th anniversary. Founded in 2

Each grant, for up to $500, will support projects for students in Worcester Public Schools (WPS).

Funded
projects must align with at least one of WEDF’s four focus areas:

• Arts and Culture;
• College and Career Readiness;
• Health and Wellness; or
• Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

These grants funds may be applied to instructional and non-instructional materials, transportation and fees for field trips or competitions, or consultants.

Applications must be less than two pages and approved by the principal where the teacher works or an immediate supervisor.

The scoring rubric used to evaluate proposals and the application are available on the WEDF website.

720 Tickets, 400 Tows in Worcester During Storm

WORCESTER – The City of Worcester announced today that the Winter Weather Emergency, declared on Friday, Jan. 23, and the Declared Winter Parking Ban, which went into effect at 1 AM on Sunday, Jan. 25, remain in effect until further notice.

During the storm, the city issued 720 tickets and towed 400 cars to date as of 1 PM on Tuesday. Find the restrictions that apply to your street on the city website.

For questions, residents should contact Worcester 311 by dialing 3-1-1, emailing 311@worcesterma.gov, or visiting the city’s 311 website page. Residents can submit requests through the 311 app and email 24/7. Residents looking to locate a vehicle that has been towed are advised to contact Worcester 311.

According to the city, 72 municipal vehicles and 295 private contractors began treating roads at 7:30 AM on Sunday, Jan. 25, and worked overnight and into Monday, Jan. 26, at 4 PM. During that time, 19 inches of snow accumulated.

A second shift of equipment operators worked from Monday afternoon through Tuesday morning, including 40 municipal vehicles and 210 contractors actively clearing roads as well as clearing and salting main arteries.

With 250 pieces of equipment on the road on Tuesday, crews transitioned into clearing and treating residential and side streets and clearing snow piles at intersections and near schools.

Worcester experienced nearly two feet of snowfall across its 460 miles of public roads and 80 miles of private roads throughout the storm, according to the city.

The city also reminds owners and occupants of both residential and commercial property that they are responsible for clearing and treating sidewalks adjacent to their property within 10 hours after snow ceases to fall. The city’s Sidewalk Snow Removal Ordinance requires snow and ice removed to a width of no less than 4 feet for the entire distance of abutting sidewalks and the clearing of both abutting crosswalks and curb ramps.

Those who fail clear snow as required by the ordinance are subject to a fine of $75  per day.

Municipal garages remain free of charge during the Declared Winter Parking Ban. Those garages include:

• Major Taylor Garage – 30 Major Taylor Blvd.
  
• Federal Plaza Garage – 570 Main St.
  
• Pearl & Elm Garage – 20 Pearl St.
  
• Worcester Common Garage – 3 Eaton Place
  
• Union Station Garage – 225 Franklin St.