Skip to main content
Press Release

Malden Man Pleads Guilty To Sex Trafficking Of A Minor

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts
RSS feed

BOSTON – A Malden man pleaded guilty yesterday to sex trafficking a 15-year-old girl.

David Minasian, 25, pleaded guilty to causing a minor to engage in prostitution. In April 2013 he was indicted and is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young on October 9, 2014.

In 2012, officers executed a search warrant at Minasian’s home and recovered a computer that contained advertisements offering sex for a fee with a young girl whose pictures were also displayed. After analyzing the advertisements, which Minasian posted on the Internet site Backpage.com, agents identified the 15-year-old victim.

After Minasian and accomplices took pictures of the minor victim, which were used in advertisements posted on various Internet sites offering sex for a fee, they prostituted her in area hotels and a residence in Malden.

Pursuant to the plea agreement, Minasian faces a sentence between 13 and 15 years in prison, five years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and $4,000 in restitution.

U.S. Attorney Ortiz, Special Agent in Charge Vincent B. Lisi of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Boston Field Division and Malden Police Chief Kevin Molis, made the announcement. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Leah Foley who is a member of Ortiz’s Civil Rights Enforcement Team.

Since United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz created the Civil Rights Enforcement Team in 2010, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has handled numerous human trafficking investigations and prosecutions. Within the last week, Michael Gemma was convicted by a federal jury of sex trafficking and five individuals from Massachusetts and Maine were indicted for operating a sex trafficking ring.

Updated December 15, 2014