A Worcester couple has been handed an 18-year prison sentence each for the sex trafficking of a younger family member, according to court records and statements from the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts. Kiersten Soto, 32, and her husband Moises Soto, 33, engaged in what U.S. Attorney Leah Foley called brutality and control to profit from commercial sex involving the victim across the New England area.
Their conviction stems from offenses that spanned between February and May of 2022, where force, fraud, and coercion were employed to traffic the victim. The Sotos similarly used a website to advertise their victim to prospective sex buyers. "Kiersten Soto regularly threatened the victim with violence, abandonment and involuntary commitment to a facility," as per a report by The Boston Globe. Moises Soto, with a history as a former MMA fighter, inflicted extreme physical violence, including beatings and assaults.
Evidence presented at trial included videos from the defendant's phones, showing them intimidating the family member in their own home. This psychological and physical distress coincided with the victim's struggle through drug withdrawal symptoms. According to prosecution statements, the trafficked family member, in a desperate bid for escape, eventually sought refuge with an individual who had previously paid for sex with her. The complex nature of the victim's circumstances was highlighted in court documents stating that "[the victim] must have been and how devoid of support she was, that in a situation so desperate, the only person she could turn to for help, also happened to be one of her sex buyers," as reported by MassLive.
In defense of Moises Soto, his lawyers painted a picture of a father who, after serving a proposed 15-year prison term (the minimum sentence), wished to rebuild relationships with his children who would be adults by his release time. Nonetheless, prosecutors countered that such a past does not mitigate his responsibility nor lessen the gravity of the offenses. Official statements from the prosecution remarked on the "shameful" use of knowledge around opioid addiction to exploit the victim, determined that "Addiction is not a pass to brutalize others."
In addition to imprisonment, the couple will serve five years of supervised release and have been ordered to pay restitution totaling $138,000. The sentences, handed down on Friday, conclude a law enforcement effort to deliver justice for egregious crimes that spanned multiple states and violated numerous personal boundaries. The Sotos will each serve their sentences concurrently.
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