U.S. Army Military Policeman Xaver Boston, 29, was convicted on October 11 by a federal jury on six counts of sex trafficking and one count of using an interstate facility to promote a prostitution enterprise.
The United States Department of justice says that Boston operated an extensive sex trafficking enterprise in the Charlotte, NC area between 2012 and September 2017. Boston paid his female ’employees’ in heroin and hydrocodone pills.
The verdict was announced by Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray of the Western District of North Carolina.
Evidence presented during the three day trial, including the testimony of three of the four victims identified in the indictment revealed that Boston recruited the victims—young women and one teenager who were all struggling with drug addictions. Boston promised to provide them with a place to live and give them drugs to feed their addictions.
Boston also falsely promised them a house, car, and other material possessions. Boston then advertised them on Backpage.com for prostitution and collected the proceeds for his own profit. After recruiting the victims, Boston controlled their supply of highly addictive drugs such as heroin and hydrocodone pills.
Without the drugs, the victims would experience excruciating physical and mental pain and withdrawal symptoms.
So in order to coerce the victims to prostitute, Boston withheld their drugs until after they completed commercial sex acts, and he withheld it as punishment if they failed to turn over all of the prostitution proceeds or otherwise violated his rules.
Evidence presented at trial also showed that Boston used violence to control and coerce the victims on occasion. For example, he choked one victim on multiple occasions, and he punched and slapped others.
Boston also used a pistol to strike one victim in the face, breaking her nose.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Gore said this concerning the case:
> “The defendant in this case preyed upon young vulnerable women, exploiting their drug addictions and forcing them to engage in prostitution for his own profit. The Civil Rights Division will continue its vigorous efforts to work with our federal and state partners to hold human traffickers accountable and vindicate the rights of victims.”
After deliberating for seven hours, the jury found the defendant guilty of seven out of nine counts contained in the indictment. Boston is currently in federal custody. Each sex trafficking charge carries a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life, mandatory restitution and a $250,000 fine.
A sentencing date has not been set. The case was investigated by the FBI.
