A Massachusetts woman who was indicted by a grand jury for the alleged sex trafficking of a minor at the Saugus group home where she worked faced a judge on Friday.
Ashley Goodrich, 27, of Lynn, pleaded not guilty at her arraignment in Worcester Superior Court. The charges Goodrich faced included four counts of trafficking a minor for sexual servitude and four counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Goodrich is accused of posting online ads offering sex for money and then driving a minor to multiple sexual encounters in Boston and Worcester in November and December of last year.
Prosecutors said Goodrich claimed the child had run away from the home when she was actually engaging in prostitution. Goodrich then allegedly pocketed at least some of the money that was made.
Authorities said Goodrich allegedly recruited the child from Atlantic House on Western Avenue in Saugus, where she worked and where the child had been placed by the Department of Children and Families for her protection and care.
When the allegations first surfaced in May, Goodrich was fired from Atlantic House, which is run by Eliot Community Human Services.
The attorney general's office said the group home for boys and girls, ages 13-18, has since been shut down.
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Goodrich was released on personal recognizance and ordered to stay away from the victim in the case and all minors under 18. She is scheduled to return to court on Nov. 26.
Goodrich will also be arraigned on similar charges in Suffolk County at a later date.
Neither Goodrich nor her attorney had anything to say as they left the court.
