A Boston man has been found guilty in a second federal child exploitation case, after jurors reviewed a cache of videos and other digital evidence. Tramonte Queen, 27, of Dorchester, was convicted Friday and now faces more prison time when he returns to court for sentencing in September. The latest verdict stacks on top of a separate federal guilty finding from January in an earlier trafficking case.
According to MassLive, jurors in the new case convicted Queen of producing child sexual abuse material involving another minor, two counts of sexual exploitation of children, and one count of possession of child sexual abuse material. Prosecutors said this prosecution involved a different victim than the one at issue in January.
The first conviction followed a four-day trial, according to a press release from The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston. Prosecutors there presented evidence that Queen recruited and prostituted a 16-year-old girl from his mother's Dorchester home and drove her to hotels in Rhode Island.
Neighbors reported seeing a stream of visitors at the house, and court filings stated that Queen used online ads to draw in buyers, reporting by Boston.com showed. Queen was arrested on Feb. 5, 2022, while driving with the victim, officials said during the first prosecution.
Charges and evidence
In the latest trial, prosecutors told jurors that investigators pulled videos from Queen’s cellphone showing him having sex with the minor and directing her in sexually explicit acts intended for distribution, as reported by MassLive. The outlet reported that sentencing in this second case is scheduled for September.
Legal next steps
Federal law carries steep penalties for the crimes involved. The sex trafficking and transportation charges from the first case carry a statutory range of 10 years to life in prison, and the exploitation and child sexual abuse material offenses can add decades more behind bars under federal sentencing statutes, according to The U.S. Attorney’s Office. The office is prosecuting both cases and has provided a victim-assistance contact for anyone affected: [email protected].
Together, the two convictions highlight how federal and local authorities have ramped up child exploitation prosecutions in recent years. Officials are asking anyone with information tied to these investigations to reach out to the FBI’s Boston division or the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
