I’ll never forget signing my lease for an apartment in Malden, MA. I almost snuck back in to take it back as I was not very comfortable with the neighborhood. However, just a few years prior, in 2008, Malden had been voted the best place in Massachusetts to raise kids. I was an Investigator at the time. The morning after I moved in, I was pulled over by a police officer. I hadn’t done anything wrong, he wanted to know why I was working in his territory. Not a good sign.
Another night, my boyfriend was leaving my apartment when a woman ran into him. She was panicking and asking to use his phone. Apparently she’d left a bar with a guy who began acting weird and making her nervous. Shortly after she ran into my boyfriend, the guy she had been with came running down the street with an axe. Thankfully, the police arrived at the same time and the crisis was averted. However, Malden is also a residential area close to a MBTA station, parks, schools, and people going about their day to day lives.
So, when I read about Jordende Pierre and this poor victim, I was a bit surprised that this all occurred so close to home. When I imagine crimes such as these, where a woman is held captive, starved and repeatedly raped and sold to other men, I usually am thinking of warehouses or remote abandoned buildings, not a multi family house with a landlord who luckily cares a bit about the property.
This nightmare all began with a dating app, Tinder. I’m so grateful my dating life was coming to an end when those were just becoming popular. Just as the thought of Uber had initially scared me, finding it no different than legal hitchhiking…I hold the same fears and anxiety around dating apps. I know plenty of people meet wonderful partners through dating apps. But the idea of trusting someone I've only encountered through a screen has always made me nervous. There's so much you simply cannot know about another person. Life is full of those chances…it’s just that an app seems like opening up an opportunity to an endless supply of creeps.
According to a police report reviewed by The Boston Globe, the woman told investigators she met 29-year-old Jordende Pierre through Tinder. Pierre allegedly picked her up from a rehabilitation facility that she was staying at, and brought her to a residence in Malden’s Oak Grove neighborhood.
And although we have no idea what the expectations were or what had transpired between the two, it’s just sad to me. She was staying at a rehabilitation facility, likely working through challenges. We don't know what she hoped to find in Pierre. Whatever it was, I can't imagine she hoped for what prosecutors say happened next.
What prosecutors allege happened afterward is horrifying. They say Pierre confined her inside an unfinished attic, where he allegedly removed the door handle to prevent her from leaving. According to the police report, she was given crack cocaine, sexually assaulted, and forced into sexual encounters with other men. She estimated she was forced into those situations with other men approximately 16 times. Pierre would make the arrangements and collect the money for himself.
She also alleged that Pierre regularly raped her. When she would try to refuse, he became enraged and screamed at her. She was afraid of what he might do…the bar was already pretty low at that point.
According to the report, she also sometimes went days without eating.
SOURCE: The Boston Globe, September 29, 2026
My heart breaks for this woman. People meet up with people on dating apps and quick hook up apps all the time. Plenty of women struggle with addiction and find themselves trying to get rehabilitated. The odds of ending up in this scenario are luckily not very high. If the allegations against Pierre are proven, this woman was deliberately exploited by someone who recognized her vulnerability and used it against her.
The Water Leak That Changed Everything
On September 20, 2026, the owner of the Summer Street property was investigating a water leak. According to prosecutors, access to parts of the building had been obstructed. Some of the tenants were trying to restrict access to areas of the house.
It sounds like the landlord was determined and when they finally entered the attic, the discovery was absolutely shocking. They found the woman lying on a small mat in an unfinished space. The attic had exposed insulation, hanging electrical wires, and trash scattered across the plywood floor. A five-gallon bucket containing urine was nearby.
According to police, the woman was inadequately clothed, visibly dirty, and appeared malnourished. Investigators documented scabs and bite marks on her arms and legs.
I cannot fathom what was going through her mind. Or the relief she likely felt when that landlord made their way into that attic and discovered her.
The landlord contacted police, setting in motion the investigation that ultimately led to Pierre’s arrest.
SOURCE: WCVB, September 25, 2026
SOURCE: The Boston Globe, September 29, 2026
How Could This Happen Without Anyone Knowing?
How do that many men allegedly come and go for sexual encounters without someone realizing what’s happening or caring enough to stop it?
And if those men were allegedly paying to sexually assault a woman being held against her will, what efforts are investigators making to identify those men and determine what they knew?
The landlord told NBC10 Boston that she had not known Pierre was living at the property or that anyone was staying in the attic. Police have said their investigation is ongoing and that additional people could face charges.
The allegations raise important questions about who was involved, who might have known, and whether anyone had an opportunity to intervene.
SOURCE: NBC10 Boston, September 25–29, 2026
SOURCE: Boston 25 News / Live 5 News, October 4, 2026
Pierre Was Already Facing Other Charges
On September 24, authorities arrested Pierre. The following day, he appeared in Malden District Court and pleaded not guilty to charges of trafficking a person for sexual servitude, kidnapping, and indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or older.
And according to court records reported by The Boston Globe and Boston 25 News, Pierre was already on release in connection with separate assault-and-battery and weapons charges out of Somerville. He had reportedly been ordered to stay away from and not contact or abuse the alleged victim in that earlier case.
Of course the existence of those charges doesn’t establish guilt, but it does raise questions worth investigating about his prior court proceedings and the conditions of his release.
Following his September 25 arraignment, Pierre was ordered held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled for October 6. The Boston Herald reported that the hearing was delayed. The reason for that postponement, any rescheduled date, and the outcome of subsequent proceedings have not yet been confirmed.
Pierre has pleaded not guilty and is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
SOURCE: The Boston Globe, September 29, 2026
SOURCE: Boston Herald, October 6, 2026
The greatest part of this story, she survived. After six weeks of alleged captivity, exploitation, hunger, pain, and fear, she was discovered and saved. What if that pipe had never leaked?
Malden Police Chief Marc Gatcomb told Boston 25 News that the woman has been brought to a safe place with her family. Authorities were working to get her the help she needed.
Nobody deserves to be treated in the way this woman was treated. We don’t need to know what she looks like, her history, or the details of every terrible thing she says happened to understand the gravity of these allegations.
Human trafficking doesn’t always look the way television and the movies portray it. It can involve someone the victim knows. Someone who presents himself as a boyfriend. Someone who uses drugs, fear, isolation, financial control, or threats to exploit another person. Sometimes it happens in places we pass every day. Sometimes, as Malden’s police chief warned, it’s hidden right under our noses.
SOURCE: Boston 25 News, September 24, 2026
THE GOOD DEED
There is no verified public fundraiser for the woman in this case. Given the nature of the allegations and her right to privacy, I would be extremely cautious about circulating any campaign claiming to represent her without independent confirmation.
But there are organizations helping people who have experienced sexual exploitation and trafficking.
My Life My Choice, a Massachusetts nonprofit, provides survivor-led support, mentoring, prevention education, and other services for young people affected by commercial sexual exploitation.
You can learn about supporting its work here:
https://www.mylifemychoice.org/support-our-work
Donations to My Life My Choice support its broader mission, not the woman in this case.
And if you suspect someone is being exploited, remember that confronting a suspected trafficker yourself could put the person at greater risk. Seek guidance from trained professionals or emergency services when someone is in immediate danger.