A 29-year-old man has pleaded not guilty in Malden District Court to charges that he held a woman for about six weeks in the unfinished attic of a multifamily house on Summer Street in Malden and forced her into sex with other men. Jordende Pierre was arraigned on Friday, September 25, 2026, on charges of trafficking a person for sexual servitude, kidnapping, and indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or older. He is presumed innocent.
The allegations below come from prosecutors’ statements in court and from Malden police, as reported by NBC10 Boston and Boston 25 News. Boston 25 spelled his surname “Piere” in parts of its coverage; NBC10 spells it “Pierre.”
What prosecutors allege
- How it began. According to prosecutors, Pierre met the woman through a dating app and brought her to the Summer Street house about six weeks before she was found.
- The conditions. Middlesex Assistant District Attorney Jacob McCrindle told the court she was found on Sunday, September 20, naked and malnourished on a mat in the attic. “She clearly had not eaten, she was dirty. She was living, essentially, in squalor in this attic area,” he said, according to NBC10. Boston 25 reported prosecutors said she was covered in scabs and using a bucket as a toilet.
- The door. “The door handle in this attic area, it could be removed, and the defendant would remove that door handle so that she could not leave,” McCrindle said.
- The trafficking allegation. Prosecutors say the woman, who they said struggled with substance use, was given drugs at the house, that Pierre sexually assaulted her, and that he forced her to have sexual encounters with other men who came to the property.
- A pending case. Both outlets reported that Pierre was out on release in an open Somerville case charging assault and battery with a dangerous weapon; Boston 25 said weapons charges as well.
Two accounts of how she was found
The reports differ on how the woman was discovered, and both are worth recording.
The property owner, Qing Sun, told NBC10 that she and her husband went to the house on Sunday because of a water leak. She said tenants at first kept them out of certain rooms, and that when they reached the attic they found the woman and a man, who ran past them. They called 911. Sun said Pierre was not a tenant and that no one was supposed to be living in the attic.
Malden Police Chief Marc Gatcomb told Boston 25 that the investigation began when an officer “noticed something out of place” at the building. The two accounts may describe different parts of the same Sunday. Neither the police nor the district attorney has reconciled them publicly.
Pierre was not arrested until Thursday, September 24. Malden police, the State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section and the FBI’s Violent Crime Task Force served an arrest warrant at the building, and Boston 25 reported he was found hiding under a mattress. Gatcomb said the investigation is not over and that other people could be charged.
The charges and what they carry
Trafficking of persons for sexual servitude, G.L. c. 265, § 50. This is the most serious charge. The statute covers anyone who knowingly “recruits, entices, harbors, transports, provides or obtains by any means” another person to engage in commercial sexual activity, or causes a person to do so, and anyone who benefits financially or “by receiving anything of value” from it. The penalty is five to 20 years in state prison and a fine of up to $25,000. The five-year minimum is mandatory: the sentence cannot be suspended, and a person convicted is not eligible for probation, parole, work release or good-conduct deductions until five years are served. The case cannot be continued without a finding or placed on file.
The statute’s text does not require proof that the woman was moved across state lines or that force was used for every encounter. “Harbors” and “obtains by any means” are enough if the purpose was commercial sexual activity. Whether the other men paid, and whether Pierre received anything of value, will be central.
Kidnapping, G.L. c. 265, § 26. The statute reaches anyone who “forcibly or secretly confines or imprisons another person within this commonwealth against his will,” including with intent to have the person “in any way held to service against his will.” The maximum is ten years in state prison. The allegation about the removed door handle goes directly to confinement.
Indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or older, G.L. c. 265, § 13H. Up to five years in state prison or two and a half years in a house of correction.
The open Somerville case
Because Pierre was on release in another case when he was arrested, prosecutors can ask the court in that case to revoke his release. Under G.L. c. 276, § 58B, a judge must order revocation and detention after a hearing if there is “probable cause to believe that the person has committed a federal or state crime while on release” and no conditions “will reasonably assure the person will not pose a danger to the safety of any other person or the community.” The reports reviewed did not say whether prosecutors sought revocation or dangerousness detention, or what bail was set on the new charges.
What comes next
- The next court date in Malden District Court has not been reported.
- Police say more charges, including against other people, are possible.
- The woman has not been identified, and this site does not identify alleged victims of sexual offenses.
Resources for survivors of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673. Anyone with information about trafficking can call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888.
Frequently asked questions
What is Jordende Pierre charged with?
Trafficking of persons for sexual servitude, kidnapping, and indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or older. He pleaded not guilty in Malden District Court on September 25, 2026, and is presumed innocent.
What is the sentence for sex trafficking in Massachusetts?
Under G.L. c. 265, section 50, five to 20 years in state prison and a fine of up to $25,000. The five-year minimum is mandatory, with no probation or parole eligibility until it is served.
How was the woman found in the Malden attic?
The property owner told NBC10 Boston she found the woman while checking a water leak on Sunday, September 20. Malden’s police chief said the investigation began when an officer noticed something out of place at the building.
What is the penalty for kidnapping in Massachusetts?
Under G.L. c. 265, section 26, up to ten years in state prison, or a fine of up to $1,000 and up to two years in jail.
Sources: NBC10 Boston (court statements by Assistant District Attorney Jacob McCrindle; interview with property owner Qing Sun) and Boston 25 News (statements by Malden Police Chief Marc Gatcomb), September 24 to 26, 2026. Court filings were not available for review. Statutory text of G.L. c. 265, sections 13H, 26 and 50, and G.L. c. 276, section 58B read at malegislature.gov. General information about Massachusetts law, not legal advice.