Boston Man Sentenced to 25 Years for Sex Trafficking of Minors

BOSTON—A Boston man convicted for his role in a sex trafficking operation was sentenced late yesterday to 25 years in federal prison.

EDDIE JONES, 28, of Dorchester, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Gertner to 25 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. In November 2009, a jury found JONES guilty of conspiring to traffic women in interstate commerce for the purpose of prostitution and transporting minors in interstate commerce for the purposes of prostitution. He will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release.

This investigation into the sex trafficking of minors began in 2005 after a minor female victim reported to police that she had been prostituted in and outside of Massachusetts by local pimps. The investigation resulted in the federal indictment of six men on conspiracy and related sex trafficking charges. Four of the co-conspirators pleaded guilty to conspiracy prior to trial. During the six-day trial of JONES and co-conspirator Darryl Tavares, several trafficking victims testified, including many who were under the age of 18 when the offenses occurred. In April, Tavares was sentenced to 25 years in prison and will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release.

The victims described how defendants JONES and Tavares worked together and with the co-conspirators to control the prostitutes’ behavior, switched underage prostitutes back and forth among them and viciously beat the young women. One victim, who was a minor at the time of the offense, described how JONES stomped on her face with his booted foot because she used her cell phone without obtaining his permission. Another victim, who was 16 years old when JONES transported her out of state to prostitute her, testified that JONES beat and choked her when she did not obey his rules.

In sentencing JONES, the Judge said the defendant’s “callous behavior” toward such “vulnerable victims” warranted the sentence and that it should serve as punishment and deterrence, but also as “retribution” for the victims.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Field Office; Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis; and Colonel Marian McGovern, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, announced the sentence. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney’s Leah Foley and George Vien of Ortiz’s Drug Task Force Unit.