Baltimore Man Indicted for Sex Trafficking of a Minor and Other Charges Related to His Alleged Prostitution Business

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury indicted Steven B. Boyd, a/k/a “Gotti,” age 36, of Baltimore, yesterday on charges of sex trafficking of a minor, sexual exploitation of a minor, and other charges related to his operation of an alleged prostitution business.

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Acting Special Agent in Charge Ivan Arvelo of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Interim Commissioner Kevin Davis of the Baltimore Police Department; and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby.

According to the seven count indictment, beginning in at least July 2013, Boyd was a pimp who caused girls and women to engage in commercial sex acts for his own financial benefit.  The indictment alleges that Boyd recruited girls and women whom he met at hotels, other public places and online to work for him as prostitutes, including two girls who Boyd knew were under 18 years of age.  Five other women over the age of 18 worked for Boyd, including two women whom Boyd persuaded to travel from Ohio and California, to Maryland to work for Boyd.

The indictment alleges that Boyd would routinely take some or all of the money from the girls and women and keep it for himself.  Boyd provided the women with drugs, including “molly” and marijuana, as well as alcohol.  Boyd had the girls and women walk the “track,” also called the “blade” or the “strip,” areas of Baltimore and other city streets frequented by commercial sex workers and customers.  Boyd paid for online ads for the women and girls to engage in commercial sex acts.  Boyd transported the girls and women on “outcalls,” taking to them to hotel rooms and residences to engage in prostitution.  Boyd provided the girls and women with telephones to communicate with him about their commercial sex activities.

The indictment also alleges that Boyd used one of the minor girls to engage in sexually explicit conduct so that he could record a video.  In addition, the indictment alleges that on January 12, 2015, Boyd transported three of the women from Maryland to Georgia to engage in prostitution, returning to Maryland on January 14, 2015 to continue working for Boyd.

Boyd faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison for each of two counts of sex trafficking of a minor; a mandatory minimum of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison for sexual exploitation of a minor; a maximum of 20 years in prison for each of two counts of enticement to travel interstate to engage in prostitution; and a maximum of 10 years in prison for each of two counts of interstate transportation to engage in prostitution.  An initial appearance is scheduled for Boyd today at 1:30 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Mark Coulson in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.  Boyd is currently detained on state charges.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.  For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the "resources" tab on the left of the page.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended HSI Baltimore, the Baltimore City Police Department and Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zachary A. Myers and Rachel M. Yasser, who are prosecuting the case.