Maine man accused in prostitution ring

BOSTON – Six men were accused in a federal indictment unsealed Thursday of forcing teenage girls as young as 15 to work as prostitutes, taking them to several states and Bermuda.

The charges against Darryl Tavares, 24, of Revere and two Boston men, Shaun Leoney, 26, and Ruben Porcher, 29, include sex trafficking of children and conspiracy to transport minors across state lines for prostitution.

Trueheart Peeples, 30, of Portland, Maine; Eddie Jones, 25, of Boston; and Aaron Brooks, 23, of Quincy are charged with conspiracy to transport minors across state lines for prostitution and other crimes.

Prosecutors say the Boston-based group operated from 2001 to 2005 in Massachusetts, Maine, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Florida and Pennsylvania. One of the girls was 15 when Porcher took her to Bermuda for prostitution, according to the indictment.

The indictment alleges some members of the group had ties to a network of sex traffickers and met with them in New York City in May 2005 for a “toss-up” event, where pimps trade prostitutes.

Leoney and Brooks are accused of driving a teenager to Orlando, Fla., on Memorial Day weekend of 2005 for prostitution activity sponsored by Hoodlum Entertainment, a company owned by two convicted sex traffickers.

The indictment alleges that that girl, who was 17, also had worked for Jones and Tavares, and was assaulted at different times when she angered the two men.

In April 2005, the indictment alleges, when Tavares believed she had given some of her prostitution earnings to Jones, Tavares and an associate assaulted her. Tavares allegedly instructed the associate to rape her with a hair brush.

In early May, she began working for Jones, who kicked in her teeth for talking on her “work” cell phone with a man who was not a prostitution client, according to the indictment. After he disfigured her mouth, the indictment said, Jones “gave” her back to Tavares.

The men are in federal custody pending detention hearings.