Cambridge Man Charged with Sex Trafficking

BOSTON – A Cambridge man has been arrested on state charges and a federal complaint has issued, charging him with forcing a woman to engage in commercial sex throughout multiple states including Massachusetts, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, New Jersey, Connecticut and Maine. 

Daniel Rodriguez, 36, is charged with one count of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion. Rodriguez is currently held in state custody and will make an initial appearance in federal court in Boston at a later date.

According to the charging document Rodriguez allegedly forced a 27-year-old female to engage in commercial sex throughout Massachusetts as well as in Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, New Jersey, Connecticut and Maine. The charging document also alleges that Rodriguez has trafficked multiple women, including one minor, from 2017 until 2026.

It is alleged that Rodriguez began trafficking the victim in 2025. When the victim attempted to leave Rodriguez in early January 2026, Rodriguez allegedly posed as a sex buyer in an attempt to locate her and then required her to return to Boston with him. On Jan. 13, 2026, Rodriguez was allegedly transporting the victim from one hotel to another to engage in commercial sex. After allegedly committing a traffic violation, Rodriguez’s car was stopped by law enforcement. It is alleged that as law enforcement approached the vehicle, Rodriguez sped away. He yelled at the victim, blaming her for the traffic stop and led police on a high-speed pursuit, travelling at over 100 mph. Rodriguez crashed the vehicle and fled on foot, leaving his victim behind and injured. Rodriguez is alleged to have sent an accomplice to pick the victim up from the hospital and advertised her for commercial sex within hours of her hospital discharge. Rodriguez was ultimately arrested in Middleboro, Mass. on a state arrest warrant issued out of the Quincy District Court on Jan. 14, 2026.

The federal complaint alleges that Rodriguez trafficked at least three other women, one of them a minor, in 2017, 2018, and 2023. Rodriguez is alleged to have used violence and threats and made good on his promises to track his victims down if they attempted to leave him.    

The charge of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion carries with it a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years in prison, with a maximum sentence of life in prison, at least five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Ted E. Docks Special Agent in Charge of Federal Bureau of Investigations; and Colonel Geoffrey D. Noble, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Riley and Craig Estes of the Human Trafficking & Civil Rights Unit are prosecuting the case.

If you or someone you know may be impacted or experiencing commercial sex trafficking, please contact USAMA.VictimAssistance@usdoj.gov.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.