A Long Island man is accused of running a “sex dungeon” in his parents’ basement and intentionally getting women hooked on drugs so he could sell them to customers. Raymond Rodio III pleaded not guilty to the charges on Thursday, the New York Post reports. He was being held on a “$1 million bail or $2 million bond” for eight counts of sex trafficking and other prostitution charges. Prosecutors allege he got over 20 women hooked on drugs and forced them to have sex with customers in his dungeon. Rodio allegedly met the women on social media or through other methods, and would give them free drugs to get them dependent on him. He then allegedly forced the women to perform services he advertised on Craigslist and Backpage.com, and would keep most of the money the women earned.
Rodio would also allegedly lock the women down in the basement for extended periods of time, forcing them to use a bucket as a toilet and giving them no access to a shower. The investigation into Rodio reportedly started when police officers noticed that a woman he had in his car “appeared to be a victim of human trafficking” in August 2018. While Rodio’s parents were not immediately charged, prosecutors noted they were “aware something untoward was going on.”